Guangzhou has relaxed restrictions on home purchases for buyers outside the Chinese mainland in a move to boost transaction and revitalize the market amid industry sluggishness.
According to the new policy, people from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas are allowed to buy one residential property of 120 square meters or smaller in the city’s areas where purchase restrictions are implemented. They can buy an unlimited number of properties that are larger than 120 square meters in these areas.
There is also no limit on the number of homes that they are allowed to buy in areas without purchase restrictions.
Home buyers from Hong Kong and Macao need to submit proof of identity and mainland travel permits while those from Taiwan and overseas need to provide working or studying certificates in Guangzhou
In Guangzhou, home purchase restrictions are implemented in Yuexiu, Haizhu, Liwan, Tianhe, Baiyun and Nansha districts.
Home buyers from Hong Kong and Macao need to submit proof of identity and mainland travel permits while those from Taiwan and overseas need to provide working or studying certificates in Guangzhou.
A written commitment stating that the properties are bought for individual use is required for all the groups.
It is reported that the new policy came into effect last week.
Before the latest policy launch, residents from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas were allowed to buy only one residential property in Guangzhou.
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Restrictions on purchasing commercial properties such as offices and shops in Guangzhou have also been lifted for foreigners, allowing them to buy such properties individually. Before, they could only purchase these properties by setting up companies and a complicated process of application and certification was involved.
“On one hand, Guangzhou’s new policy is introduced with the aim of promoting equal treatment among residents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; on the other, it aims to encourage more people from Hong Kong to work, live and set up business there,” said Li Yujia, chief researcher at the Guangdong Planning Institute's residential policy research center.
He added that the measures are in line with the central government’s policy direction of reducing housing stock.
The latest move by the Guangzhou government came less than two months after the city eased housing restrictions for its residents, lowering the threshold for individuals and families to buy homes
The latest move by the Guangzhou government came less than two months after the city eased housing restrictions for its residents, lowering the threshold for individuals and families to buy homes.
According to the policy issued on May 28, the minimum down payment ratio was reduced to 15 percent for first-home buyers and 25 percent for second-home buyers. The lower limit of mortgage rates was also removed.
Sales prices of new homes in Guangzhou dropped by 8.3 percent in May compared with a year earlier, according to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Prices of second-hand homes declined by 11.4 percent year-on-year in May.
Property purchase in the GBA’s mainland cities among Hong Kong residents is gaining in popularity as the cost of living in Hong Kong rises. The trend is accelerating as more people from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region travel to the Chinese mainland to dine, shop and relax since the border reopening last year.
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According to Centaline Property, more than 5,200 transactions of residential properties in the GBA were made by Hong Kong and Macao buyers between 2019 and 2022, totaling 16 billion yuan ($2.19 billion). Zhongshan is the most popular city, followed by Shenzhen and Zhuhai.
