Shanghai relaxes home-buying rules as China’s property market struggles
Local residents can now own as many flats as they wish outside the city’s outer ring road
Local residents could now own an unlimited number of flats outside the city’s outer ring road, an area where two-thirds of Shanghai’s housing is located, municipality authorities said on Monday. Previously, families were restricted to a maximum of two housing units in Shanghai.
The mortgage rate for buyers of a second home will be reduced to an annualised 3.05 per cent, down from 3.35 per cent, aligning it with the rate for first-home purchasers.
The policy adjustment aims to address residents’ pent-up housing needs and improve living conditions, while promoting stable and healthy growth in the local real estate market, according to a statement from the Shanghai government.
Shanghai’s market-boosting measures come after new home prices across 70 mainland cities decreased 3.4 per cent last month from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Home prices nationwide have been falling since April 2022.
In the pre-owned home market, prices have been falling for more than two years, with July seeing a 5.9 per cent year-on-year drop, following a 6.1 per cent decline in June.
