Foreign nationals, as well as residents from Macao, Hong Kong and Taiwan are now able to buy a home in Guangzhou with much more ease after local authorities relaxed the city’s residential property purchase restrictions, multiple media outlets report.
Under the new rule, home buyers from outside of mainland China no longer face a purchasing limit for residential properties measuring over 120 square metres. Formerly, non-mainland buyers were only eligible to acquire one residential property.
For Macao, Hong Kong and Taiwanese residents, no limits will be placed on properties over 120 square metres that are situated in the non-restricted purchase areas. However, only a single purchase is allowed for properties with a dimension of 120 square metre or less, which are located in a restricted purchase area.
Foreign nationals, meanwhile, can purchase an unlimited number of flats that are over 120 square metres, regardless of whether the property is located in a restricted or non-restricted purchase zone. For homes that are less than 120 square metres and are located in restricted areas, overseas buyers will only be allowed a single purchase.
The restricted purchase areas in Guangzhou currently include the districts of Yuexiu, Haizhu, Liwan, Tianhe, Baiyun (excluding the towns of Jianggao, Taihe, Renhe and Zhongluotan) and Nansha, according to an official announcement published in 2023.
[See more: Everything you need to know about buying property in Macao]
Despite the reports, local housing authorities have yet to publicly announce the new measures. Caixin Global, however, reported a real estate executive as saying, “all real estate companies have received verbal notifications from the housing authority, but no official documents have been issued.”
The measures are not expected to have a significant impact on the local property sector, according to experts cited by Caixin Global, who noted that overseas home buyers account form a small section of the market.
Guangzhou’s move to further ease property curbs comes as the Chinese housing sector faces slow growth, low investor confidence and developers that have racked up debts, with no ability to complete projects.
Other major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have also been eliminating home purchase restrictions in recent months in an effort to shore up their sluggish markets and win over investors.
