(Reuters) – China’s top cities Shanghai and Shenzhen plan to lift key remaining restrictions on home purchases to attract potential buyers and support their weak property markets, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The changes will allow people from other places in China to buy homes in the popular cities, which were previously tightly controlled due to concerns about excessive speculation.
Shanghai, China’s commercial and financial center, and Shenzhen, the country’s answer to Silicon Valley, are also seeking to remove restrictions on the number of homes Chinese can buy, three sources said.
Both cities are expected to announce the changes in the coming weeks, joining a growing list of Chinese cities that have completely abolished purchasing restrictions, she added.
All sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
China’s State Council Information Bureau, which handles media inquiries on behalf of the government, and the Ministry of Housing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The governments of Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing did not respond to Reuters’ queries.
Shanghai and Shenzhen began imposing restrictions on people buying homes in 2011 and 2010, respectively, in an effort to cool rising prices.
The capital Beijing is also considering a longer-term phased lifting of similar restrictions in most parts of the city, with the exception of key districts such as Xicheng and Dongcheng, where China’s main Zhongnanhai leadership complex and several government office buildings are located. two of the sources.
The planned easing comes after Chinese leaders pledged at a Politburo meeting on Thursday to aim to achieve an economic growth target of around 5% for 2024 and halt housing market declines, state media reported.
The move would mark the latest attempt by Chinese policymakers to halt the long-term decline in the struggling real estate sector.
It follows broader-than-expected monetary stimulus and real estate market support measures announced by the central bank on Tuesday, including liquidity injections and interest rate cuts, aimed at restoring confidence in the economy.
(Reporting by Reuters staff)