China City Eases Home Curbs, Signaling Possible Policy Shift

  • Heze has scrapped a two-year holding restriction on new homes
  • Adds to signs that nation’s property market may be cooling
Photographer: Giulia Marchi/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

An eastern Chinese city announced rule changes making it easier for people to sell homes, a move local media has called the first easing of such housing curbs nationwide in more than two years.

Heze, a city of about 9 million, in 2017 began requiring individuals to own their homes for at least two years before putting them on the market. That restriction has now been withdrawn, according to a statement from the local housing and rural-urban development bureau. Local financial daily China Securities Journal cited a real-estate analyst who described Heze as the first city to loosen housing sales curbs.