China's real estate industry has officially transitioned to a stock-phase development model, marking a pivotal structural shift in the country's urban housing landscape, senior housing officials confirmed on Friday.

Chen Shaowang, vice minister of housing and urban-rural development, outlined the key development blueprint for the 15th Five-Year Plan period at a press conference hosted by the State Council Information Office. The upcoming five-year cycle will serve as a critical transformation window for China's three core urban development segments: urban and rural construction, residential and real estate markets, and the construction industry.

The ministry summarized the industry's structural overhaul under a three-tier framework: two strategic shifts, two market transformations, and three industrial upgrades.

The "two strategic shifts" apply to urban and rural development. China's urbanization drive is moving from rapid quantitative expansion to steady, high-quality growth. Meanwhile, municipal development is phasing out large-scale incremental construction and prioritizing the upgrading, optimization and efficiency improvement of existing urban stock assets.

For the residential and real estate sector, the "two market transformations" signal profound fundamental changes. China's property supply-demand balance has undergone a historic reset, and the sector has fully entered a stock-dominated era. Transaction data underscores the structural reversal: secondary home transactions accounted for 27% of China's property market in 2020, rose to 46% in 2025, and surpassed 50% in the first eight months of this year. The crossing of the 50% threshold officially confirms the market's shift from incremental growth to stock circulation.

The construction industry is set to advance intelligent, green, and integrated transformation as its core development direction during the new planning cycle.

Officials also reviewed substantial progress achieved across housing and urban governance during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, highlighting five key improvements in high-quality development.

First, residential living standards have seen comprehensive enhancement. Over 11 million affordable housing units and resettlement apartments have benefited more than 30 million residents, while renovation projects have upgraded dilapidated rural housing for over 1.78 million low-income rural households.

Second, urban living environments have been significantly optimized. Renovations of more than 240,000 aging urban communities have improved living conditions for over 110 million residents. Black and odorous water bodies in cities have been largely eliminated, and household waste classification has basically achieved full coverage across prefecture-level and above urban areas nationwide.

Third, the preservation and inheritance of urban and rural cultural heritage has been elevated to a new level. China now hosts 143 national-level historical and cultural cities, 1,312 historic towns, 487 historic villages, and 8,155 traditional Chinese villages under state protection.

Fourth, the construction sector's industrial transformation has accelerated rapidly. Green and intelligent construction technologies have achieved widespread adoption, reinforcing the global competitiveness of China's construction industry and reshaping the country's urban landscape.

Fifth, international cooperation in urban habitat governance has continued to deepen. China has hosted main events for World Cities Day, launched the Shanghai Prize for urban innovation, released its national implementation report for the UN New Urban Agenda, and held minister-level cooperation meetings with ASEAN, Central Asian and Arab countries. The country's global partnership network in sustainable urban development continues to expand steadily.

Official data from China's statistical authority shows a sustained uptick in completed home sales, with their proportion within overall new-home transactions climbing annually. Regulators are pushing developers to prioritize existing-home sales for new projects, backed by targeted land, fiscal and tax support. For ongoing presale projects, tightened capital supervision will be enforced to safeguard homebuyers' legitimate rights.