Xian, the city with the fastest rising home prices in China, imposes property buying curbs on immigrants
- A record 1.15 million people had become eligible to buy homes in Xian in the past two years
- New policy means some 800,000 people will have to wait a bit longer to buy property
Nearly 800,000 immigrants in Xian, home to the Terracotta Army, will be unable to buy homes after the northwestern Chinese city introduced new property curbs on Thursday, dealing a blow to the red-hot market.
Previously new hukou holders could buy property immediately. Buying curbs on non-local hukou holders have also been imposed unless they can provide five years of tax proof, compared to the earlier requirement of only two years. The five-year requirement marked the strictest condition for non-locals, bringing it on par with Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
The number of people holding hukou issued by Xian swelled by 1.15 million between 2017 and 2018, after joining other second-tier cities to lure talent by greatly lowering the bar to obtain hukou, while fast-tracking it for certain categories of people who services were greatly in demand.
That inflow had bolstered demand for new housing, but at the same time some 800,000 people with hukou issued since 2018 have suddenly become ineligible to buy homes because of the new policy.
These restrictions came just two days after the capital of Shaanxi province recorded a 2 per cent month on month rise in new home prices in May, the highest among 70 cities monitored by the government. It was also the sixth straight month that Xian has seen the highest price increase across the mainland. The city has seen average prices surge 24.4 per cent in the past 12 months.
