(Reuters) – Top Chinese cities Shanghai and Shenzhen are planning to lift key remaining restrictions on home purchases to attract potential buyers and shore up their flagging real estate markets, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The changes will allow people from other places in China to buy homes in the popular cities, which was previously tightly controlled due to worries about excess speculation.
Shanghai, China’s commercial and financial hub, and Shenzhen, the country’s answer to Silicon Valley, also seek to scrap limits on the number of homes that Chinese can buy, said three of the sources.
Both cities are expected to announce the changes in the coming weeks, joining a growing list of Chinese cities that have completely abolished purchase restrictions, they added.
All the sources requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
China’s State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the government, and the Ministry of Housing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The governments of Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing did not respond to Reuters’ queries.
(Reporting by Reuters staff)
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