What changes have taken place in the housing rental market that has experienced the test of the epidemic? How do housing leasing enterprises seize the opportunity to get out of the predicament? The Economic Daily reporter recently went deep into the housing rental market and brought you an investigation.
With the gradual easing of the COVID-19 epidemic in China, the national property market is gradually picking up, and the rental market is also lively.
Previously, due to the superposition of the Spring Festival and the epidemic, the transaction volume of the rental market has suddenly declined since 5438+ 10 in mid-June this year. In the traditional February rental season, the rental market almost stagnated. However, since March, most parts of the country have ushered in the resumption of work and production, and the volume of rental transactions has also begun to rise sharply. This year's spring rental season is not absent after all, but it is delayed by one month compared with last year. In this case, has the difficulty of leasing enterprises been alleviated? From what aspects should the sustainable development of the rental market be exerted?
The market bottomed out and rebounded
The data exceeded last year's record.
According to data from market research firm RealData, the volume of house rental in the third week of March exceeded the same period of last year, and reached a new high in the fourth week, surpassing the peak of peak season after the Spring Festival last year. Throughout March, the transaction volume of 18 urban housing rental monitored by Shell Platform increased by 5.33 times month-on-month and 9.8 1% year-on-year.
Huang Hui, a senior analyst at RealData, said that on the one hand, in March, leasing companies gradually started to resume work, which promoted the market recovery. On the other hand, in view of the leasing market, many cities across the country have issued notices on financial subsidies for leasing. There are corresponding subsidies for the new construction, renovation, operation and revitalization of rental housing, as well as the registration of enterprises and individuals on the government rental platform, which has stimulated the recovery of the rental market to some extent.
The reporter visited some business districts and communities in Beijing and found that with the promotion of resumption of work and production, some real estate agencies have opened their doors to welcome guests, and the number of renters has gradually increased. "The first thing I do when I come back is to rent a house. The cleaning service of the rental house was upgraded to disinfection and cleaning, and the administrator left the daily disinfection materials, which was quite reassuring. " Mr. Huang, who recently returned to work in Beijing from his hometown, successfully signed a contract to live in a rented house in Fengtai District.
The reporter found out that during the epidemic period, 17 provinces and cities issued 42 policies related to housing leasing to strengthen epidemic prevention management and guide the sound development of the market. In March, all localities began to encourage leasing companies to return to work to promote market recovery. Fujian Province, Shenzhen City and Changchun City issued four guiding opinions for enterprises to return to work, demanding to strengthen the health management of employees returning to work, control the number of staff entering the residential area to see the house, and abide by the order of epidemic prevention management in the residential area. Six cities, including Hangzhou, Chengdu, Hefei, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Zhengzhou, issued notices on the development of financial subsidy rental housing market, and implemented certain standards of subsidies for new construction, renovation and operation of revitalized rental housing. At the same time, they guide leasing enterprises and individual landlords to register on the government leasing platform through subsidies.
As an important part of the long-term mechanism of China's real estate market, the housing rental market has become the key development direction encouraged by the state in recent years. According to the survey data of enterprises, affected by the epidemic, the number of registered housing rental enterprises nationwide in June and February this year was lower than that in the same period of last year, and the number of registered enterprises in February was only 5,550, down 55% year-on-year. With the effective control of the epidemic, the number of registered enterprises rose rapidly in March this year, reaching the level of the same period last year, an increase of 427% from the previous month.
Business operation is under pressure.
Anti-risk ability needs to be improved
COVID-19 epidemic is a big test for all walks of life, and many enterprises are facing operational problems. For the housing leasing industry, the Spring Festival was originally the peak period for customers to change houses and sign new contracts. The epidemic caused the industry to almost stagnate, and some existing "short boards" were also exposed. Most housing leasing companies are weak in risk resistance, facing multiple pressures such as capital and management during the epidemic prevention and control period, and have stood on the cusp of public opinion many times.
According to the survey data of enterprises, influenced by relevant policies and changes in people's living habits, the number of registered housing rental enterprises in China has increased geometrically in the past five years, reaching a new high in 20 19, reaching 367,000, an increase of 32.5% compared with 20 18. Although the scale of China's housing rental market is gradually expanding, quality of enterprise is still mixed. Leasing enterprises with a registered capital of less than 5 million yuan account for 60% of the total, while enterprises with a registered capital of more than 50 million yuan only account for 8%. The resources of head enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises show an uneven distribution trend.
The reporter's investigation found that during the epidemic, the operating burden of leasing enterprises increased, the cash flow was tight, and the risks were further amplified. On the one hand, the rental rate of leasing enterprises has decreased and the vacancy rate has increased. According to RealData data, during the epidemic period, the total occupancy rate of Danke apartments nationwide dropped to 75%, down 20% year-on-year; The 654.38+00000 houses managed freely have been vacant for an average of 654.38+05 days due to the epidemic, and the direct loss of enterprises is expected to exceed 600 million yuan.
On the other hand, due to the closed management of residential quarters in many cities, a large number of tenants demand rent refund or rent-free because they can't live in, which increases the risk of tenants' default and the difficulty of collecting rent from enterprises. During the epidemic period, less than 50% tenants of long-term rental apartment enterprises such as Ziyou and Eggshell returned to the rental city, and many tenants demanded rent-free on the grounds of force majeure.
"Overall, the risk-taking ability of leasing companies is low. Because long-term rental of apartments is a low-profit industry, many enterprises themselves are still in a state of loss. Affected by the epidemic, corporate cash flow is tighter and the burden is heavier. Some SMEs even face the risk of bankruptcy. " Huang Hui said.
In recent years, housing leasing enterprises have developed rapidly with the help of capital, but most of them are still in the stage of staking land, making profits difficult. Chai Qiang, vice president of China Real Estate Appraisers and Real Estate Brokers Association, believes that the main reason for the weak anti-risk ability of housing leasing enterprises is that they have not yet formed a mature and stable profit model and risk prevention mechanism.
The epidemic situation has put forward higher requirements for the anti-risk ability of housing leasing enterprises. Zhao, secretary-general of Beijing Real Estate Agency Industry Association, said that the return on investment of long-term rental apartments is long. In recent years, the influx of hot money has contributed to the "virtual fire" of leasing enterprises, and enterprises have not realized the attributes and laws of leasing industry; Some enterprises pay too much attention to scale expansion, ignore the improvement of their own business capabilities and lack crisis awareness. Once encountering the "black swan", these enterprises can easily fall into business crisis.
The system is gradually improving.
The rights and interests of tenants should be taken seriously.
Although the development of the epidemic will affect the living environment of long-term rental apartment enterprises in stages, the long-term development trend of the industry will not change. "Renting and purchasing at the same time" is a long-term mechanism of the real estate industry, and quality living is an inevitable demand under the background of consumption upgrading.
According to the survey of RealData, the highest proportion of tenants' lives actually affected by the epidemic is "unable to enter the rental community", accounting for 5 1.69%, that is, nearly half of tenants encountered difficulties in the process of returning to their residential communities. Due to the requirements of epidemic prevention and control, many communities have taken closed measures, and some tenants cannot enter because of the closure of the community, or they need more complicated procedures to enter. This not only brings inconvenience to tenants, but also challenges the business development of leasing institutions. At the same time, it also reveals that most tenants are not treated equally with the owners and even discriminated against.
"Protecting the right to rent and purchase is an important foundation for the healthy development of the rental market, and the protection of tenants' rights and interests needs to be further explored in the future. "Huang Hui said that after the outbreak, on the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen legislative support for leasing, so that the rights and interests of tenants can be clearly guaranteed by law; On the other hand, it is necessary to provide tenants with channels to complain and defend their rights, and gradually establish a multi-level housing lease dispute settlement mechanism including employment agencies, industry associations, government service hotlines and grassroots organizations such as streets and communities to resolve lease conflicts and disputes.
During the epidemic, many leasing companies actively responded to the impact of the epidemic, on the other hand, they established their brand image by taking emergency prevention and control measures, reducing rent, and changing rent without responsibility. Even so, leasing enterprises still encounter many difficulties, the living space of small and medium-sized long-term rental apartment enterprises is further compressed, the industry concentration is accelerated, and the risk of cash flow breakage is more prominent.
With the continuous return of tenants, the impact of the epidemic on housing leasing enterprises has eased. However, Chai Qiang stressed that the current situation is only slightly alleviated for the housing leasing enterprises that have not entered the profit track in the past. If the epidemic situation is repeated, normalized and prolonged, and the pressure continues to accumulate, it will not be ruled out that the housing leasing enterprises will close down due to operational difficulties, and even lead to the reshuffle of the housing leasing industry.
"The epidemic has put forward a higher test for the operation of long-term rental apartments." Huang Hui said that the long-term rental apartment business model determines its high rental cost, low profit rate and poor risk resistance. After the epidemic, long-term rental apartment enterprises need to further examine their own business model, promote refined operation, and do a good job in inventory management of "fixed income by production" in order to maintain healthy cash flow and ensure the sustainable development of enterprises. It is difficult to guarantee the rental rate by blindly expanding the scale, and enterprises will face great risks, which may be unsustainable once they encounter market changes.