Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai have further relaxed their home buying restrictions in a bid to finally raise the country’s property market out of the doldrums, where it’s been for the past four years.
On Sunday, Guangzhou’s authorities announced they were dropping all curbs on home buyers, the South China Morning Post reported. Meanwhile, Shenzhen and Shanghai announced they were loosening requirements for non-locals wanting to purchase residential property. The new rules for all three cities kicked in on Monday.
The policy shifts followed the central government’s major stimulus announcement last week. People’s Bank of China governor Pan Gongsheng said new tools would be introduced to ease pressures on the property market, and that the mortgage rate for existing housing would be further lowered. China’s leaders have also promised to spend as necessary to achieve the country’s growth target of around 5 percent.
[See more: Beijing promises more spending and may inject up to a trillion yuan into banks]
China unveiled its first tranche of “heavyweight policies” to resuscitate the housing market back in May. Property investments, which for decades had been a major means of wealth creation for ordinary Chinese, took a turn in 2021 when a number of major developers defaulted on their repayments to investors. The crash was sparked by new regulations designed to curb soaring property prices.
Since then, a drastic decline in investor confidence has seen sales worsen year-by-year. Some provinces and cities have already made it easier for non-mainland Chinese, such as Macao and Hong Kong residents, to purchase property in an attempt to spur sales.
Speaking to the Post on the latest city-level announcements, Shanghai real estate expert Yan Zhancai said a lot of buyer inquiries were expected due to “pent-up demand” being released. “Significant steps are being taken to encourage home-buying during the [week-long National Day] holiday,” Yan said.
