New Shanghai policy ignites people's enthusiasm for home buying
Customers inquire about new houses at a sales office in Shanghai.
A couple from Hangzhou, neighboring Zhejiang Province, came over to a real estate sales office located in Juyuan area of Shanghai's suburban Jiading District over the weekend.
They were one of the first families to take quick action after Shanghai released the latest adjustments to its real estate policy last Friday, introducing nine measures to ease restrictions on home buying.
The new regulations include allowing families with multiple children to buy an additional home, lowering the downpayment requirements and floors for mortgage rates, and cutting the requirements on social security payment from five years to three years for non-Shanghainese.
"Our son couldn't buy an apartment in Shanghai before because he hadn't paid social security for five years yet. Now with only three consecutive years (of payment) required, we want to hurry up and secure a house here in Jiading," said the couple.
Since the release of Shanghai's new real estate policy, the number of inquiries for both second-hand and new homes has been increasing, according to real estate industry insiders.
"The new policies have boosted the eligibility of young people and stimulated their willingness to buy a home, and also met the large housing needs of multi-children families," said sales manager Jiang Fei.
"Compared to the previous measures, this new set of policies is a big adjustment. It is a positive incentive."
Not just new properties but enquiries about second-hand housing have also surged.
"Our bookings for house inspections in the past few days have risen significantly. We usually only have one or two groups of customers for the visit tour on weekday evenings, but now the number has doubled. The weekends are also filled with appointments in advance," Wang Huan, an account manager at a real estate agency at Baiyin Road in Jiading New City, noted.
"On May 28, we already had four transactions in our stores, which was incredible.
"The number of signed home purchase contracts in Shanghai was 15,000-16,000 units in May. It is expected to reach 18,000 or even 20,000 units this month, I believe."
Wang said that the new policy also made landlords more optimistic about selling,
"For example, before there was still room for bargaining, now the attitude of most landlords is tougher. Some landlords have even raised prices."
"As opposed to the previous 'progressive' relaxation policy, the new policy adjustments this time are more targeted, stronger, and more extensive," said Chen Julan, senior analyst from the China Index Academy, Shanghai.
"The introduction of this policy can stimulate demand for housing, level up market expectations, and promote a stable and healthy development of the real estate market."
