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Nanjing, capital city of eastern China’s Jiangsu province, has become the first big Chinese city to remove home purchase restrictions, as policymakers scramble to arrest a deepening crisis in the property sector.
Nanjing will let people buy flats without proof of eligibility in four districts, easing its last restrictions on home purchases, according to a notice released by the local authority.
The city also cut the down payment requirement for first-home purchases to 20% from 30% for commercial mortgages, compared to 30% to 35% in most major cities.
Other cities are likely to follow the city in relaxing all restrictions and Nanjing’s move indicates property easing will continue, playing an important role in stimulating home-buying and changing expectations in the sector, said Yan Yuejin, director of E-house China Research and Development Institution.
China’s authorities in recent weeks have rolled out a series of measures, such as easing borrowing rules, to support the debt-riddled property sector, which accounts for one-quarter of China’s economic activity, but analysts say the steps are unlikely to reverse the slide.