China Signals Property Stabilisation as Beijing Relaxes Purchase Restrictions

The Beijing municipal authorities have further eased housing purchase restrictions by reducing the required duration of individual income tax payments and permitting families with multiple children to acquire additional residential properties. Market observers view this adjustment as an early signal of broader, nationwide supportive measures expected in 2026 to address the prolonged weakness in the property sector. At a national conference held in Beijing earlier this week, policymakers reiterated that stabilising the real estate market will be a key objective under China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, which begins in 2026. Measures introduced in the capital are widely regarded as a policy reference point for other regions, according to Liu Jing, a professor of accounting and finance specialising in real estate at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.

Under the revised rules, buyers without Beijing household registration are now permitted to purchase homes within the Fifth Ring Road after completing two consecutive years of local tax or social security contributions, compared with the previous three-year requirement. For properties located outside the Fifth Ring Road, the eligibility threshold has been reduced to one year from two, based on guidelines jointly released on Wednesday by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and related agencies. These steps come as China’s property industry, once a major driver of economic expansion, has been in decline since the second half of 2021, with weak sales and falling prices weighing on household confidence.

The updated policy framework also allows households with two or more children to buy an additional home in central Beijing. Specifically, families holding Beijing hukou may own up to three properties within the Fifth Ring Road, while eligible non-Beijing-hukou families with at least two years of local tax payments may purchase two homes in the same area. Recent data indicate that transactions of larger pre-owned units exceeding 140 square metres have continued to grow, with four-bedroom second-hand homes beyond the North Fifth Ring Road accounting for an increasing share of deals.

Research from Centaline Property shows that roughly 80 per cent of Beijing’s new residential transactions are concentrated outside the Fifth Ring Road, which also serves as a core zone for second-hand housing activity. Analysts expect the relaxed rules to stimulate essential demand in these outer areas, leading to an initial rise in site visits and transaction volumes, while also accelerating the absorption of upgrade-oriented housing stock within the Fifth Ring Road. Additional support has been provided through lower financing requirements, with the minimum down payment for second-hand home purchases financed via the housing provident fund reduced to 25 per cent from 30 per cent.

Official statistics indicate that in the first three quarters of 2025, Beijing’s new residential sales volume declined by 8.2 per cent year on year to 4.92 million square metres, while sales of purely commercial residential units rose by 20.1 per cent to 3.47 million square metres. Despite the policy changes, market participants on the ground report that inquiry volumes have shown limited immediate movement since the measures were introduced.