Aug 09, 2022 02:26AM ET
By: AnalysisWatch
The city of Langfang recently removed all restrictions on home purchases to boost buyer interest, Beijing Daily reported on Tuesday-the first Chinese city to make such a public announcement since the country's property crisis began last year.
The city of 5.5 million people also urged banks to lower minimum down payments for housing provident funds, which are used to finance home purchases.
Weak sentiment in the sector, due to the debt problems of many of the country's developers, was further undermined by threats by homebuyers across the country to stop paying mortgages on unfinished projects. According to a private survey, China's new home prices and sales volumes fell in July from the previous month.
This year, hundreds of Chinese cities, mostly small, have taken measures to stimulate demand by offering subsidies, easing restrictions and lowering down-payment requirements. The restrictions on purchases, which were introduced by Langfang in 2017, include restrictions on non-residents buying homes.
The city of Langfang in Hebei province, about 60 kilometers southeast of Beijing, has also eased restrictions on home sales in areas near its borders with Beijing and the new Xungang district, the state-run newspaper reported.
In the Langfang real estate market, home prices had already fallen for seven consecutive months by July.