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Beijing has further eased restrictions on home purchases as authorities seek to support the city’s weak housing market and improve buyer demand. The latest measures have reduced the minimum tax or social insurance contribution period for non-local residents buying homes within the Fifth Ring Road from two years to one year. The changes also allow eligible non-Beijing residents to purchase homes across the capital under the revised requirement. At the same time, Beijing has raised housing provident fund loan limits, with additional support available for buyers in outer districts, green-certified homes and families with two or more children.
Beijing municipal authorities have introduced another round of measures to make home purchases easier, as the capital’s property market continues to face weak demand and declining prices. The latest measures took effect on Saturday and extended the relaxation of purchase restrictions to areas within the Fifth Ring Road, a major expressway surrounding central Beijing. The area had remained outside some of the earlier easing measures.
Under the revised rules, non-local residents without a Beijing household registration, or hukou, can buy homes across the capital if they have made continuous social insurance or individual income tax payments in Beijing for at least one year. The requirement for purchases within the Fifth Ring Road was previously two years.
The move further widens access to Beijing's housing market for people who work in the city but do not hold local household registration. Earlier policy adjustments had already reduced the contribution requirement for purchases outside the Fifth Ring Road to one year, while the stricter two-year requirement continued to apply within the inner area.
Beijing has also increased the maximum housing provident fund loan amount. The limit for a single contributor buying a first home has been raised to 1.2 million yuan, equivalent to about USD 178,000, while the maximum for households with two contributors has been increased to 2.4 million yuan.
Buyers can receive additional loan support under specific conditions. The maximum loan can be increased by up to 600,000 yuan for eligible purchases in outer districts, while buyers of green-certified housing can also qualify for an additional increase. Families with two or more children can receive an additional increase of up to 1 million yuan under the revised provisions.
The latest measures come as China's housing downturn has continued for a fifth year. The prolonged slowdown has affected household wealth and spending and has added to the wider imbalance between strong industrial production and weaker domestic demand.
China's property sector was once estimated to account for around a quarter of the country's economy. However, the sector has been under pressure since the debt crisis that emerged in 2021, with developers facing financing problems and homebuyers remaining cautious.
Beijing has already introduced several rounds of housing policy adjustments. Previous measures included reducing the social insurance and income tax requirement for non-local buyers, allowing eligible families with two or more children to purchase an additional home within the Fifth Ring Road, and changing mortgage-related policies.
The city has also gradually expanded support through the housing provident fund. Earlier adjustments increased the maximum provident fund loan for certain second-home purchases and provided additional lending support for green housing and families with multiple children.
The latest relaxation therefore focuses on two areas: widening eligibility for buyers who live and work in Beijing but do not have local hukou, and increasing the amount they can borrow through the provident fund system.
Source Reuters
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