China is seeking to maintain stability in the property market this year after the roller coaster ride of 2016, with measures to prevent surges in metropolises and the growing inventories in small cities.File photo:Xinhua

Authorities in over 30 Chinese cities have allowed house buyers to pay the housing mortgage by using family members' housing provident fund to reduce loan pressure, such a scheme is meant to further boost the domestic property market, according to the Chinese news outlet thepaper.cn. 

The policies were issued in cities across 18 municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions including Tianjin, Shanwei and Chaozhou in South China's Guangdong Province, Yinchuan and Wuzhong in Northwest Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Tangshan and Qinhuangdao in North China's Hebei Province. 

According to the policies, parents' and one's partner's housing provident fund can be withdrawn and be used to pay one's children's or one's partner's housing mortgage. Analysts believed the move has showed the flexibility and diversity of policies, which represents a positive response for residents' reasonable demands. 

Chinese regulators are moving to lift restrictions on house buying as many domestic developers are struggling amid a lukewarm market demand, such as the developer giant Evergrande reporting mounting liabilities and others seeing profits plunge sharply. 

People's Bank of China, the central bank, announced on September 29 that it will speed up the implementation of special loans to ensure delivery of residential buildings and increase the application scope as needed, in order to prevent the suspension and postponement for some property projects running under high debt, high leverage and high turnover.

The central bank and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission also issued a notice on the same day to relax the floor on mortgage rates for first home buyers, and the lower limit for second home purchases loan rates remain unchanged.

Analysts said that the move is set to support the long-term sustainability of the housing market, making full use of the policy toolbox, in addition to meeting the genuine need of prospective homebuyers and preventing speculation. 

Additionally, developers in tier-3 and tier-4 cities came out with bizarre promotions such as allowing house buyers to hand in watermelons and other crops to pay for a new house. 

Global Times