Wuxi district offers unprecedented US$1.47 million subsidy to boost flagging housing market, attract top talent
- Wuxi city’s Liangxi district is offering the subsidy to ‘high level’ and ‘highly skilled’ immigrants, according to WeChat post
- Offer comes as Chinese cities try to loosen curbs amid stagnation in the property market and the economy
Chinese cities are looking to boost their property markets as well as attract top talent by offering unprecedented housing subsidies of up to 10 million yuan (US$1.47 million).
Wuxi city’s Liangxi district is offering the subsidy to “high level” and “highly skilled” immigrants, according to a notice the district government posted on WeChat on Wednesday. The city is located near Shanghai in China’s eastern Jiangsu province.
The district joins a number of Chinese cities looking to attract talent and boosting their property markets. Its offer follows a similar proposition made by Chongqing city’s Yuzhong district earlier this week. The city in central China is also offering a 10 million yuan housing subsidy to top talent with “extraordinary contributions”.
“[Wuxi] is the city with the strongest housing subsidy in the country,” said Yan Yuejin, research director at E-house China Research and Development Institute. “In the past, housing subsidies were basically 2 million to 5 million yuan at most.”
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Successful applicants will need to work full-time in Liangxi district and not have any previous residence record or housing transaction record in Wuxi within the past five years.
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The top “Category A1” talent eligible for the 10 million yuan subsidy may include winners of top international prizes such as a Nobel Prize. For most applicants, however, the housing subsidies range from 400,000 yuan to 5 million yuan, depending on their talent and achievements. For subsidies more than 1 million yuan, the amount will be disbursed over three years. The homes bought cannot be sold within five years of purchase.
A lived-in home in Liangxi costs 16,801 yuan per square metre on average. For 10 million yuan, one can buy a three-bedroom furnished flat with a study and storage room measuring 243 square metres, or 2,620 sq ft, completed in 2017 near the city centre, according to listings on Anjuke, an agency.
The district is known for its cultural heritage and historic buildings, according to its website. It is also known for traditional trades and saw the highest growth in industrial investment in Wuxi city last year.
