Chinese cities rolling out new housing policies

Chinese cities rolled out new measures for the second quarter in a bid to rein in their property markets, as National Bureau of Statistics figures showed new residential home prices remained stable in 15 major cities considered the "hottest markets" in February.

Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, increased its loan limit starting April 1 for first home buyers, who can borrow money through public housing accumulation funds from 300,000 yuan ($47,644) to 500,000 yuan for individuals, and from 600,000 yuan to 1 million yuan per couple.

The move aims to ease the interest burden for residents with rigid demand, while the housing policy stays unchanged for second home buyers, according to the Housing Provident Funds Administration Centre of Nanjing.

South China's Hainan province announced Saturday non-local residents could only buy one house, and should have down payments of no less than 70 percent if they apply for commercial housing loans. Meanwhile, commercial residences in four cities of Hainan, including Wuzhishan and Baoting, are open for locals only.

Northwest city Xi'an stated March 30 a lottery system will be employed in the case of prospective buyers outnumbering available houses. Families with rigid demand in southwest city Chengdu will be given priority in the lottery system to buy a house.

China is also pushing ahead with a home rental market in large and medium cities to address rising rental demand from urban newcomers.

Measures such as increasing rental housing supplies and setting up a government-backed home rental service platform will be taken.

In response, Nanjing adjusted housing fund withdrawal maximums, from 900 yuan to 1,200 yuan for the unmarried, and from 1,800 yuan to 2,400 yuan for married couples.

Wuhan is building 30,000 houses for rental, expected to cover 1 million square meters, and will take measures to support house leasing companies as well.

Relatively tightened liquidity to contain leverage and financial risks also helped tame housing prices. Authorities have constantly stated "houses are for living in, not speculation."

A statement released after the Central Economic Work Conference in December said China will maintain policy continuity while adopting new policies in 2018.

Investment in real estate development across the country increased 9.9 percent year-on-year in the January to February period, 2.9 percentage points faster than last year's 7 percent and reaching 1.08 trillion yuan.