On August 13th, the Tianjin Housing Provident Fund Management Center announced that Tianjin has launched a new measure to withdraw the down payment from the housing provident fund for purchasing existing houses. At present, the housing provident fund policy has become an important lever for supporting housing consumption in various regions. In addition to supporting the payment of down payments, various regions have also optimized the criteria for determining the number of times housing provident fund loans are used and expanded the scope of provident fund withdrawals. During an interview with reporters, Zhang Bo, the director of the 58 Anjuke Research Institute, stated that as policy effects gradually become apparent, differentiated and refined housing provident fund policies may become a normalized tool for regulating the real estate market. The new policy released by the Tianjin Housing Provident Fund Management Center aims to lower the threshold for purchasing a house. Eligible depositors and spouses can apply to withdraw the housing provident fund amount before the month of signing the purchase contract in one lump sum to pay the down payment. At the same time, for those who apply for a housing provident fund (combination) loan to purchase the same housing after handling this business, the amount already withdrawn will be included in the calculation of the loan limit. At present, the policy of extracting housing provident fund for down payment has become a key direction for optimizing housing provident fund policies in various regions. According to statistics from the China Academy of Sciences, since the beginning of this year, more than 30 regions including Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Xi'an have introduced policies to withdraw down payments from housing provident fund payments. The level of cities supporting the withdrawal of down payments from housing provident fund payments has gradually extended to first - and second tier core cities. For example, on August 8th, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban Rural Development and the Beijing Housing Provident Fund Management Center issued a notice on further optimizing and adjusting real estate related policies in this city (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), which clearly supports depositors to apply for provident fund loans while withdrawing provident fund to pay the down payment for purchasing a house. Previously, the most direct role of housing provident fund was reflected in reducing monthly interest rates, but homebuyers need to raise their own down payment before applying for housing provident fund loans, which puts a lot of pressure on capital turnover. ”Zhang Bo stated that the number of regions supporting the withdrawal of housing provident fund account balance to pay down payment is increasing, significantly reducing the threshold for purchasing a house, which is particularly beneficial for young people and new city residents who lack the ability to pay down. Chen Wenjing, Director of Policy Research at Zhongzhi Research Institute, believes that housing provident fund plays an important role in improving residents' ability to afford housing and renting, and improving the living conditions of low - and middle-income families. Supporting the withdrawal of housing provident fund account balance to pay down payment further enhances the housing security function of housing provident fund and better supports the housing consumption needs of depositors. Since the beginning of this year, the optimization of housing provident fund policies has been one of the main directions for optimizing real estate policies in various regions. While supporting the withdrawal of housing provident fund account balance for down payment, many regions have also made optimization adjustments in terms of increasing the amount of provident fund loans and extending repayment periods. On August 12th, the Suzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center issued a notice on further expanding the scope of housing provident fund use, proposing multiple measures such as optimizing the recognition standards for the number of times housing provident fund loans are used, lowering the down payment ratio of housing provident fund loans, and supporting the extraction of housing provident fund from property fees. These measures aim to support rigid and improved housing demand, and further leverage the role of housing provident fund in reducing costs, promoting consumption, and benefiting people's livelihoods. The "Notice" released by Beijing has also optimized the housing provident fund policy, including adjusting the criteria for determining the number of housing units and increasing the maximum amount of housing provident fund loans for second homes. At present, the housing provident fund policy has played a relatively obvious role in reducing the cost of purchasing homes for residents. Combined with other real estate policies, it has jointly driven the narrowing of the decline in sales area of commercial housing and shortened the inventory turnover cycle in the core area. ”Zhang Bo stated that in the future, the housing provident fund is expected to be upgraded from a housing finance tool to a full life cycle housing service tool, promoting the transition from "having a place to live" to "having a comfortable place to live". When it comes to the optimization direction of the housing provident fund policy in the next step, Zhang Bo believes that various regions can combine the "rental and purchase simultaneously" policy, increase the support of housing provident fund in the rental scenario, and help form a long-term mechanism of "rental purchase linkage". In addition, the mutual recognition and loan model of housing provident fund in the Greater Bay Area and Yangtze River Delta region can be promoted on a larger scale nationwide, improving the unified national provident fund platform and enhancing cross regional service efficiency. Chen Wenjing also believes that many cities such as Shenzhen and Xi'an have promoted mutual recognition and loan of housing provident fund loans from other regions, providing reference for other cities. The promotion of relevant policies in the future can enable the housing provident fund to better meet the housing needs of more residents. (New Society)