Dalian eases housing policy for graduates

Dalian, Liaoning province, has rolled out enhanced policies on offering subsidies and incentives for purchasing houses to attract and retain talent, particularly focusing on high-level talents, university graduates and various skilled professionals.

Graduates are eligible for housing vouchers with values of 100,000 yuan ($14,077) for doctoral degree holders, 50,000 yuan for master's degree holders and 30,000 yuan for bachelor's degree holders. Similarly, graduates from colleges, technical schools and vocational schools are also eligible for 30,000 yuan vouchers, which are all valid for one year in four districts in Dalian.

According to Dalian's bureau of housing and urban-rural development, there are no restrictions related to the graduation time, household registration or social security payments when graduates apply for these housing vouchers, which are amid the 14 measures issued on Oct 30 to further stabilize and boost the property market.

"This year, we focus on key groups in housing consumption, tailor-made support measures, aiming to empower talents to stay and contribute to the city's long-term development," said Zhu Qi, deputy director of the city's housing provident fund management center.

Under the new regulations, the highly talented youth in Dalian can now receive the settlement allowance in a lump sum after obtaining the property rights certificate for a newly-purchased commercial property.

The city has now raised the maximum housing provident fund loan limits across the board, which for individuals has been raised to 600,000 yuan and for couples to 1 million yuan.

"Recognized high-level talents can now potentially receive housing provident fund loans up to 2 to 5 times the current maximum loan amount, with families of top-tier talents eligible for a maximum loan of 5 million yuan," said Zhu.

He said that in the first nine months of the year, 2,445 housing provident fund loans amounting to 1.68 billion yuan have been disbursed to various talent groups in the city.

Data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development show that in October, Dalian was among the cities that have seen strong growth in new home sales, up over 30 percent year-on-year.

The implementation of these new measures has sparked significant attention and discussions. Some expected the increased incentive to boost the property market, while some netizens humorously compared the situation to "buying a Ferrari and receiving a 5 yuan voucher".

A local real estate salesperson nicknamed Laowei noted the substantial impact of the policies, expecting that could potentially trigger a surge in demand for new properties in the city's urban areas.

"If you're interested in it, hurry up. After all, there are not so many new homes available," he said on his social media account with 14,000 followers.

However, a housing consultant nicknamed Dayang cautioned potential buyers to remain rational.

Focusing on talent attraction, various regions in China are optimizing policy measures and introducing similar housing incentives.

In Yancheng, Jiangsu province, top talents, who purchase homes in September and October, are eligible for subsidies amounting to 80 percent of the property's total price, capped at 3 million yuan, while full-time leading talents can receive up to 500,000 yuan in subsidies.

Skilled technical personnel and university graduates are entitled to different fixed subsidies, ranging from 200,000 yuan for doctoral candidates to 50,000 yuan for college graduates.

In Qingdao, Shandong province, a new policy effective from Oct 11 offers additional incentives for doctoral and master's degree holders to purchase new residential properties as their sole residence.

Apart from one-time settlement allowances of 150,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan, they are also eligible for housing vouchers valued at 100,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan respectively, valid for one year.

These measures have echoed with the top leadership's determination on easing the property purchase restriction. A meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, held on Sept 26, noted that housing purchase restrictions should be adjusted to assuage public concerns.

zhangxiaomin@chinadaily.com.cn