North China's Tianjin lifts all restrictions on home buying to boost property sector

China

North China's Tianjin lifts all restrictions on home buying to boost property sector

2024-10-16 15:09 Last Updated At：15:57

North China's Tianjin Municipality -- one of the four municipalities directly under the administration of China's Central Government -- has removed all remaining home-buying restrictions to better accommodate residents' diverse housing needs and boost the property sector.

A circular issued by local authorities on Wednesday outlines a series of measures designed to stimulate the property sector.

The new measures lift restrictions on the purchase and transfer of newly built commercial homes and second-hand homes, removing previous price caps on newly built commercial homes. Additionally, the existing classifications for ordinary and non-ordinary homes have been abolished.

The circular also adjusts the minimum down payment ratio requirement, for residents taking out residential mortgages in Tianjin, the minimum down-payment ratio for individual commercial housing mortgages has been lowered to 15 percent for both first-home purchases and second-home purchases.

The city has also optimized the setting of personal housing loan rates, allowing market-based interest rate mechanisms to guide banks in making orderly adjustments to existing mortgage rates.

Efforts will also be made to increase financing for real estate projects. The government is set to ramp up support for "white list" real estate projects, urging commercial banks to swiftly disburse pre-approved loans to meet the reasonable financing needs of these developments.

The "white list" is an itemized register of real estate projects or developers that have been ruled compliant with regulations and thereby eligible for financial support.

Under the "white list" mechanism launched in late January 2024, local authorities can recommend real estate projects eligible for financial support to financial institutions.

The mechanism is part of China's efforts to stabilize the sector weighed by debt problems and boost confidence in an industry that accounts for nearly 6 percent of the country's GDP.

To accelerate the development of a new real estate model, the circular calls for reforming the real estate development management system. This includes scientifically controlling increase in housing supply and properly managing the rhythm of commercial housing provision to achieve a market balance between supply and demand.

Furthermore, Tianjin will further optimize its housing design regulations and standards to support real estate developers in actively exploring the construction of more quality housing to continuously meet the diverse housing improvement needs of residents.

With the removal of purchase restrictions, both local and non-local residents can now purchase homes throughout Tianjin, including newly built and second-hand properties. Non-local buyers are no longer required to provide proof of tax payments or social security contributions to qualify for home purchases in the municipality.

DPP major barrier to normalizing cross-Strait relations: spokesman

2024-10-16 14:59 Last Updated At：15:57

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan pose a real obstacle to normal exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese mainland and the Taiwan region, said Chen Binhua, a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, on Wednesday.

Chen made the statement at a press conference in Beijing to denounce a claim from Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council regarding Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te's speech on Oct 10. Despite the fact that Lai's separatist-minded speech reveals his intention for "Taiwan independence" and does nothing to ease cross-Strait tensions, the council still asserted that the speech conveyed a "goodwill" and "hopes" for healthy exchanges between the two sides.

"Lai Ching-te stubbornly maintains a separatist stance for 'Taiwan independence', continuously promoting the new 'two states' theory based on 'mutual non-subordination'. He attempts to seek 'equal exchanges' while denying the premise that both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China. Lai's words are merely a tactic to mislead public opinion and shows no goodwill at all," Chen said in lashing out at the claim of so-called "goodwill" at the press conference.

In addition, Chen noted that the DPP uses "national security" as an excuse to severely hinder normalization of cross-Strait exchange.

"In fact, the DPP authorities have used various means to obstruct and limit cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation for their own selfish interests for some time. They have used so-called 'national security concerns' as a weapon to hinder normal interactions between people from both sides, largely staging 'green terror' on the island and restricting the public's freedom to travel to the mainland. The DPP authorities are a real barrier to normalizing across-Strait interaction and collaboration," Chen said.