The real estate destocking process has entered a phase characterized by "government-led攻坚 efforts coexisting with market-driven clearance." Idle land is being reclaimed by the government, new homes are being purchased in bulk by state-owned capital, and second-hand homes can be exchanged for new ones through local state-owned enterprises—just as 2026 begins, intensive practical actions for real estate destocking have been launched. Moving from top-level design to on-the-ground implementation, and from increased local government special bond allocations to the continuous expansion of market-based measures, local governments are now exerting coordinated efforts through multiple pathways to promote the orderly clearance of real estate inventory and stabilize market expectations. Substantive actions in urban land acquisition are underway. Right at the start of 2026, land acquisition has become a crucial tool for some local governments in their destocking efforts, with the accelerated deployment of special bond funds providing essential support. Recently, Changsha, Hunan province, took the lead by publishing a specific project list. According to information on the Changsha Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources website, on January 19, the bureau released the "Public Announcement on Projects for the Recovery and Acquisition of Idle Land Using Special Bonds for Land Reserves, Proposed for the Second Batch of 2026 in Changsha (Municipal Level)." The announcement indicated that, following deliberation by relevant departments and consensus reached with land use right holders, five projects—including the Changran plot in Kaifu District—are proposed to be included in the second batch of land reserve project lists for Changsha (municipal level) in 2026, to be acquired using local government special bonds, with a total acquisition amount reaching 2.971 billion yuan. In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Zhaoqing, Guangdong has also accelerated its pace of land acquisition. Recently, the Zhaoqing Natural Resources Bureau announced the list of projects for the first batch of 2026 in the urban area of Zhaoqing, applying for local government special bonds in the land reserve sector for recovery and acquisition, involving 15 land parcels. The total intended acquisition funds amount to 3.5 billion yuan, demonstrating the local government's resolve to proactively reclaim existing land and adjust the pace of land supply. Special bond funds for land reserves are already being deployed in some cities. For instance, on January 16, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange disclosed a "Notice on the Listing and Trading of the Second Issue of 2026 Ningbo Municipal Land Reserve Special Bonds - Tenth Issue of 2026 Ningbo Municipal Government Special Bonds." This bond issue is a 7-year fixed-rate interest-bearing bond with a issuance scale of 1.013 billion yuan and a coupon rate of 1.8%. According to the latest monitoring data from the China Index Academy, in 2025, 26 provinces (autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government) had already announced plans to use local government special bonds to recover or acquire idle land. The total intended acquisition amount exceeded 750 billion yuan, involving more than 5,500 land parcels and a planned acquisition area of nearly 300 million square meters. Among these, multiple provinces and cities have already practically issued special bonds totaling over 300 billion yuan. Calculated based on an average floor area ratio of 2, this land has the potential to help the market absorb approximately 600 million square meters of latent inventory, which is of significant importance for improving supply-demand relations and resolving existing risks. New home acquisition and "replace-old-with-new" programs advance on dual tracks. Besides destocking on the land front, the acquisition of existing housing stock has noticeably accelerated at the beginning of 2026, showing characteristics of dual-track advancement: "affordable housing + market-based replacement." At the provincial level, Hunan province was again the first to clarify its annual target. A housing and urban-rural development work conference held in Hunan on January 22 revealed that in 2026, Hunan will continue to increase the supply of affordable housing, planning to acquire over 2 million square meters of existing commercial housing throughout the year, primarily for use as affordable housing, resettlement housing, dormitories, and talent housing. Henan province, meanwhile, is strengthening its efforts through a combination of policy measures. In early January, the General Office of the Henan Provincial People's Government issued the "Several Policy Measures to Promote a Good Start in Economic Development in the First Quarter of 2026," explicitly supporting localities in accelerating the issuance of local government special bonds to acquire existing commercial housing for use as affordable housing, while simultaneously advancing 127 special loan-funded urban village renovation projects in places like Zhengzhou and Luoyang. In first-tier cities, the market-based "replace-old-with-new" model is accelerating its implementation. On January 22, Fengfa Group, a state-owned enterprise in Fengxian District, Shanghai, completed the first signing for its commercial housing "replace-old-with-new" program. This model involves acquiring second-hand homes from buyers to support their purchase of new homes from the group's projects. The initial phase plans to acquire 50 second-hand homes. Fengfa Group recently disclosed that the activity has received 104 expressions of interest, the first 50 families have completed registration and initiated old home assessments and new home matching, with another 14 families on a waiting list. Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, is also following suit. On January 25, "Fuyang Release" disclosed that the Hangzhou Fuyang Leju Investment Operation Group has launched a "replace-old-with-new" activity for commercial housing. By limiting the quantity, scope, and time frame for acquiring old homes, and issuing "replace-old-with-new discount vouchers" and home purchase vouchers to swappers, it aims to redirect demand back to the new commercial housing market. Furthermore, Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, announced on January 28 that the state-owned platform "Xufang Yanxuan" is launching a property "replace-old-with-new" exchange service. Leveraging the credibility and professional capability of the state-owned enterprise, it provides citizens with a lower-risk, higher-efficiency path for home swapping. The real estate destocking effort enters a critical period. From a policy perspective, the Central Economic Work Conference in December 2025 clarified the core tasks for real estate: "controlling incremental supply and reducing inventory." On January 20, 2026, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly issued a notice supporting urban renewal, establishing a maximum five-year planning transition period for existing land and property resources, thereby enhancing the feasibility of existing housing acquisition from a policy standpoint. Yan Yuejin, Vice President of the Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, stated that the real estate destocking has now entered a phase of "government-led攻坚 efforts coexisting with slow market-driven clearance." Some cities with high inventory are accelerating the conversion of existing housing into affordable housing through SOE acquisitions, but overall market transactions still rely on policy impetus and a greater release of homebuyer demand willingness. A veteran real estate developer insider mentioned that land acquisition on the supply side can reduce ineffective supply, while targeted acquisitions on the housing side can accelerate destocking. It is anticipated that these measures will positively impact alleviating inventory pressure, stabilizing market expectations, and restoring industry confidence. A recent CICC research report also pointed out that positive changes are beginning to appear on both the policy and supply sides of the real estate market. Since the second half of 2025, after adjusting for seasonal factors and year-on-year base effects, transaction volumes for both new and second-hand homes in China have generally stabilized at low levels. On the supply side, two significant positive signals have emerged: firstly, the volume of newly supplied land has weakened year-on-year; secondly, since December 2025, the number of second-hand home listings in high-tier cities has declined month-on-month, a trend that has persisted for about a quarter in some cities. "One thing is certain: there haven't been many new supply projects in the last two years, so objectively, there is potential for further improvement in the supply-demand relationship," Yan Yuejin believes. From a medium to long-term perspective, if destocking is achieved in stages, the real estate industry will transition towards a stable, positive, and sustainable state, with developers shifting from high-turnover models to lighter-asset, sustainable operating models.