After China's August housing overhaul, new rules take shape in land auctions

China's new housing sales policy is beginning to reshape the land market, with cities introducing existing-home sales requirements and tightening pre-sale conditions. Xiamen's 2026P13 parcel in Huli district has become the first newly auctioned land parcel in a major city after the 8/28 new policy to explicitly require existing-home sales. Other cities are adopting more gradual approaches, combining existing-home sales with stricter pre-sale requirements.

On September 3, Xiamen, Fujian province, released tender announcements for two land parcels in Huli and Xiang'an districts. The 2026P13 parcel in Huli was subject to an existing-home sales requirement, stipulating that the project must have completed final acceptance inspection and that the properties must have undergone initial registration. It