What’s new: China’s capital city took another step to bolster the ailing housing market by easing price controls on pre-owned homes that were introduced to rein in the once white-hot market.
Authorities in Beijing’s Haidian district, known for its prestigious schools, scrapped guidelines on the price range for pre-owned homes, affecting properties in 29 neighborhoods, multiple sources told Caixin.
Official price limits in the areas were dropped Friday, and properties that previously couldn't be listed for sale due to high prices can now be marketed normally, several property agents said.
The price limits mainly targeted properties in highly sought school districts that experienced significant price surges during the market boom between 2020 and 2021 as parents sought access to better education for their kids.
Background: The property agent association in Haidian introduced price guidance in September 2021, prohibiting agents from marketing properties that exceeded the limits. The guideline prices were about 80% to 95% of market prices at that time, Caixin calculated based on market transaction data.
Haidian’s move to drop the price limits followed a series of recent measures adopted by Chinese cities to relax policies and encourage housing purchases, including lowering down-payment thresholds and easing requirements on buyers to access preferential mortgage loan terms.
Last week, southern China’s Guangzhou also quietly abandoned a seven-year-old policy limiting new housing prices.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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