The '15th Five-Year' plan for urban renewal has been released, outlining a comprehensive framework expected to mobilize approximately 15 trillion yuan in total investment.

The State Council has issued the top-level design for urban renewal, detailing the objectives, key tasks, major projects, and policy measures for the period. The plan aims to achieve significant progress in urban renewal actions by 2030, with initial results in transforming urban development and construction methods, strengthening safety foundations, improving service efficiency, enhancing living environments, accelerating the shift to new growth drivers, effectively protecting cultural heritage, highlighting distinctive features, and substantially raising governance standards. The goal is for cities to become high-quality living spaces for residents.

Aligned with the objectives of building innovative, livable, beautiful, resilient, civilized, and smart modern cities, the plan deploys six key task areas. These include cultivating new drivers for urban development, creating high-quality urban living spaces, and promoting green and low-carbon transformation in urban development. It also proposes seven policy measures, such as improving the implementation mechanism for urban renewal, building a sustainable investment and financing system for urban construction and operation, and providing stronger support for revitalizing existing land resources. Additionally, 14 major projects and actions are specified, covering areas like the construction and renovation of "quality housing" and the upgrading of old neighborhoods and industrial areas.

Urban renewal involves the renovation and upgrading of older urban districts, including old residential communities, urban villages, and infrastructure updates, to meet modern urban development needs and stimulate related industries.

Progress in urban renewal has been steady. In January, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a notice on further measures to support urban renewal actions, introducing steps to enhance the adaptability of detailed planning and optimize transitional support policies. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development also announced that central government funding would continue to support urban renewal actions in certain cities in 2026. In the first quarter, special bonds related to urban renewal approached 1200 billion yuan in issuance.

According to the national housing and urban-rural construction work conference, 2026 will focus on high-quality urban renewal, emphasizing city assessments, pilot renewal projects, and the implementation of various projects related to people's livelihoods, development, and safety.

Furthermore, multiple provinces have released local '15th Five-Year' plan outlines, setting development goals and implementation priorities for urban renewal over the next five years. To date, at least 27 provinces have made arrangements for urban renewal. Recently, various regions have introduced related policies, including the promulgation of urban renewal regulations, the issuance of five-year action plans, and the development of policy incentive toolkits, all aimed at accelerating the implementation and effectiveness of urban renewal actions.

The market scale for urban renewal during the '15th Five-Year' period is substantial, with total investment projected to reach at least 15 trillion yuan.

The current real estate market shows a trend of differentiation among cities, with new and existing home prices in first-tier cities performing better on a month-on-month basis compared to others, highlighting the importance of stabilizing the real estate market.

From the perspective of some securities firms, as the industry gradually enters a phase of high-quality development, overall sector valuation may see recovery. Leading real estate companies, benefiting from lower financing costs and high market share in core regions, are expected to achieve valuation repair, presenting broad market opportunities.

Research indicates that the market-oriented commercial model for urban renewal is not yet fully established, with main challenges including project value-added potential being constrained by planning schemes, demolition costs, and whether land parcels are successfully auctioned. There is an urgent need for supporting policy breakthroughs; only with a viable new model can there be room for substantial social capital entry.

It is believed that urban renewal places high demands on real estate companies in terms of financial strength, comprehensive development and operational capabilities, deep urban experience, and experience in old renovation projects. Companies such as China Overseas Land & Investment, Yuexiu Property, and China Merchants Shekou are suggested for focus.

Multiple companies have responded regarding their progress in urban renewal layouts.

*ST Jinke stated on May 26 that in 2026, the company will leverage post-restructuring shareholder resources and credit repair support to seize policy dividends in urban renewal and revitalization of existing assets. It will focus on four light-asset core sectors: real estate project management, commercial/industrial operation, urban renewal, and asset management. In urban renewal, the focus is on state-owned and special opportunity assets, providing integrated services in renovation, consulting, and operation.

Shaanxi Construction Engineering mentioned on May 20 that the company actively responds to national strategies on urban renewal and improving existing assets. While consolidating its traditional main business, it is steadily exploring transformation toward integrated urban services and operation-investment-construction. In 2025, it successfully secured key livelihood projects, including a 6.483 billion yuan engineering procurement contract for the Sanzhao Village urban village renovation and a 1.934 billion yuan residential resettlement construction project for the Shenlufang urban village renovation.

Hongrun Construction noted that in urban renewal, the company focuses more on the renewal and construction of underground pipeline networks within the "six networks."

Qinglong Pipe Industry indicated on May 18 that plastic pipes are mainly used in scenarios such as urban underground pipeline network renewal, high-standard farmland, and urban and rural water supply and drainage. The company continues to increase capacity and channel investment, deepening its presence in the advantageous northwest market while expanding nationally, with efforts in urban renewal and water-saving irrigation.

China State Construction Engineering stated that the company actively serves the new urbanization strategy, will deepen its presence in urban markets, leverage its comprehensive advantages in consulting, investment, construction, and operation, vigorously develop businesses like urban renewal and urban operation, strengthen industrial synergy and integration, and create value for urban quality and efficiency improvement.

Jianfa Hecheng reported on May 15 that from January to April 2026, the company's newly signed contracts related to urban renewal increased significantly year-on-year. Through project practice, the company continues to explore sustainable development and operation models for urban renewal, aiming to create regional demonstration benchmarks and develop a replicable and promotable "Hecheng Urban Renewal Service Model."