Shanghai raises bar for second homes
Tightened rules push up requirement to 70pc deposit as the city follows lead of Beijing and Shenzhen in stepping up efforts to rein in prices
Shanghai has become the third mainland city to raise the deposit requirement for second-home purchases to at least 70 per cent, a signal that efforts to rein in surging prices are increasing.
The measures, part of a seven-point policy announced by the city's housing bureau yesterday, were unveiled after Beijing and Shenzhen governments recently imposed similar requirements.
Property analysts said the moves came as no surprise, given the concerns that ordinary people were being priced out of the market.
"Home prices in first-tier cities have risen sharply in the past few months and it is expected city governments will impose some measures to cool the inflation," said Alan Chiang Sheung-lai, the head of residential property at consultancy DTZ Greater China.
Guangzhou and major second-tier cities such as Hangzhou and Nanjing were expected to also roll out price-control policies for property after the third plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee, which starts today, Chiang said.
Home prices in almost all the major cities continue to increase, despite cooling measures by the central government, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
