Home sales hit a new high in Hangzhou, China’s G20 host city
Improved infrastructure and the prestige of hosting world leaders earlier this month have boosted the city’s property market
Cash-rich Chinese investors have been rushing to the housing market in Hangzhou, anticipating strong growth in the city after it hosted the country’s first G20 summit earlier this month.
Now Hangzhou, a two-hour drive from Shanghai, has become the latest city to roll out home purchase restrictions in a bid to cool the market. It announced a new rule to bar non-locals from buying a second house in its down town area, effective from September 19.
The provincial capital of Zhejiang province in eastern China saw a record 154,000 new homes sold in the first eight months of this year, already surpassing the number sold in the whole of 2015, according to E-House China R&D Institute.
On Sunday, the last day before the new rule came into effect, 5,105 homes were bought in Hangzhou, the most transactions ever in a single day for the city.
“G20 is a big trigger to the city’s housing market,” said Clement Luk, real estate agency Centaline Property’s chief executive for east China.
Luk said the city’s urban infrastructure has been greatly improved because of the preparation for G20, while the successful hosting of such a prestigious global event has boosted people’s confidence in the city’s future.