Major Chinese Cities Ease Home-Purchasing Curbs to Stimulate Demand

Three of China's hottest housing markets have further eased restrictions for home buyers, as the country's top leadership shifts to address the property sector's malaise.

Southern manufacturing hub Guangzhou said Sunday that it would remove all restrictions, saying it will no longer examine home buyers' qualifications and will stop limiting the number of homes that can be bought per household. These measures will also apply to residents without a local "hukou," or residence permit, in the city, Guangzhou authorities said in an official statement.

Meanwhile, Shanghai and Shenzhen, two of China's most populous cities, on Sunday moved to allow more people to buy homes and relaxed the home-buying quota in suburban areas.

Separately on Sunday, China's central bank said it would allow home buyers to refinance their mortgages with better rates, marking a shift in how Chinese pay off their home loans. Borrowers and banks will also be allowed to adjust mortgage rates to new benchmark rates more flexibly, the central bank said.

These moves come days after China's top leaders pledged to further stabilize the property market, signaling greater willingness to support a sector that is key to the country's economic recovery.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 29, 2024 21:31 ET (01:31 GMT)

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