Guangzhou To Lift Homebuying Restrictions In Suburban Areas

Guangzhou will became the first tier-one city to lift purchase restrictions in its peripheral areas – Huangpu, Panyu and Huadu districts. The city's other six districts remain restricted, limiting local residency families to two house purchases and one house for non-locals. However, non-local buyers will now need to pay only two years of social security in Guangzhou to qualify for homebuying, down from five years. Guangzhou urgently needs to boost market sentiment as its new home transactions have fallen for five consecutive months. The relaxation of mortgage rules earlier this month only brought a 20% increase in transactions in Guangzhou, compared with the doubled volumes recorded in Beijing and Shanghai, according to China Index Academy. (Source: 21st Century Business Herald)