News
Golden week: China’s property market sales get boost from Beijing’s stimulus measures
It was already 7.15pm on Thursday and yet the sales centre of local developer Golden Real Estate in Shenzhen was still packed with prospective homebuyers – mostly couples and groups of families – as property agents and sales representatives moved quickly around to show sample rooms or help calculate the price of flats.
Suddenly, cheers rang out after a lady smashed a “golden egg” – the typical way buyers celebrate their purchase of a new home – and then unboxed gifts from the developer. She was among some 30 homebuyers who snapped up flats on the third day of China’s “golden week” National Day holiday, when the developer pulled in about 300 million yuan (US$42.5 million) in total sales, according to Feng Yuanjin, a sales manager for the property on offer in the city’s Nanshan district.
“We had to extend our operating hours to 11pm at the latest, from the previous deadline of 7pm, to entertain as many customers these days,” Feng said, adding that their team welcomed 350 visitors on Thursday. The property mainly targeted families looking for a home upgrade, as the flats on offer cost an average of 70,000 yuan per square metre after discounts.
That hectic day for homebuyers reflects the strong boost injected into the domestic property market by Beijing’s announcement of wide-ranging stimulus measures on September 24.
Those homebuyers also benefited from the latest easing policies implemented by local governments. Last week, the municipal government of Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, removed all curbs for local and non-local residents to buy homes. Following that move, the municipal governments of Shanghai and Shenzhen relaxed previous restrictions for non-local residents.
The two cities also exempted owners of lived-in homes from paying a 5.5 per cent capital-gains tax if they sell their property after two years, compared with the previous five-year holding rule.
