Cities To Further Ease Homebuying Restrictions

First-tier cities will further relax housing policies to boost demand following the Third Plenum’s decision to “give cities full autonomy in regulating the real-estate market and reducing home purchase restrictions,” the Paper reported citing analysts. The government will retain adherence to the "housing for living, not for speculation" concept, and reform developer financing and the pre-sale system to make housing a normal commodity more accessible to consumers, said Chen Jie, professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The authorities' decision to abolish classification standards between ordinary and luxury residential buildings will help reduce taxes and fees which will boost demand for upgrades, said Wang Yeqiang, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.