The property market in Shanghai has witnessed an obvious increase in demand from homebuyers following the implementation of new housing policies that relax home buying restrictions at the end of May.
Many cities across China have rolled out measures such as eased purchase restrictions and the trade-ins of commercial housing to promote healthy development of the real estate market.
Authorities in Shanghai on May 27 announced nine specific measures, including easing home-purchase restrictions for non-Shanghai residents and divorced couples, allowing families with two or more children to purchase an additional home, and lowering the minimum down payment ratio for individual commercial housing mortgages.
Xu, a Shanghai resident, has noticed a growing interest from potential buyers for his house, which is over 90 square meters, since the implementation of the new policies.
"About five to six groups of potential buyers come to visit each week, and sometimes two to three groups in a day, which is a lot more than before," said Xu.
"The number of our new clients has risen by over 50 percent so far, while the number of property viewings by potential homebuyers has increased by almost 50 percent. And our transaction volume surged by 88 percent compared with last month," said Song Xiaojuan, a senior manager of a real estate agency in Shanghai's Songjiang District.
Data from the Shanghai Real Estate Trade Center showed a notable increase in daily online transactions for second-hand houses since the policies took effect on May 28. In May alone, there were 18,692 online contracts signed for second-hand homes, averaging around 602 per day. However, from May 28 to May 31, the daily numbers of online contracts signed were 701, 877, 984, and 961, respectively, significantly higher than the previous daily average.
In addition to second-hand homes, the demand for newly built apartments has also been on rise.
Lu Yiming, marketing director of a real estate sales center in Songjiang District, said that since the implementation of the new policies, both the number of the center's house transactions and the visits from potential homebuyers have increased by nearly 40 percent.
"I think the new housing policies make it easier for more people to buy new homes by lowering certain buying barriers. More importantly, it brings confidence to homebuyers, real estate developers, and the entire property market," said Lu.
Shanghai's new house-buying policies boost property market
