Shanghai eases residency requirements for homebuyers to spark property recovery

Shanghai has further relaxed home purchase rules just six months after the last adjustment, in its latest attempt to stem a multi-year property downturn.

Non-residents who have made social security contributions or paid individual income tax for one year will be eligible to buy one home in the city, Shanghai authorities said in a joint statement.

Previously, non-residents had to wait three years based on a policy announcement last August, easing a five-year mandate introduced in 2016 to cool an overheating market.

Those who have paid at least three years of social security contributions or individual income taxes will be allowed to buy a second home in the city area.

The policy easing, which comes after sluggish home sales in January, is designed to capture pent-up demand among non-residents, who have lower home ownership rates and therefore a stronger appetite for home purchases, according to analysts.

New home sales in Shanghai, where housing demand is relatively stronger than in other cities across the country, fell 38.6 per cent in January when measured by floor space, according to data from Centaline Property.