Yanlord surges to $1.49, up 5.7% on good volume of 18m DJ UPDATE: Shanghai Allows Second Home Buys; Market Views This As Easing - Report
-- Shanghai allows long-term residents to buy a second home, local media reports citing a housing official
-- Those holding a residency permit for three years are eligible
-- Market views this year-old but little-known concession as an easing of restrictions
-- Property stocks rise, but analysts say the central government may intervene
SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--Shanghai is
allowing long-term residents to buy a second home in the city, the Shanghai Securities Journal reported Wednesday citing an unnamed official from the city's housing bureau.
Only those holding a Shanghai residency permit for more than three years are eligible to do so, as they are granted the same home purchase concessions as people who have a "hukou," or permanent residence permit, the newspaper cited the official as saying.
Few real estate agents and home buyers knew of the three-year concession and so view it as an easing of home purchase restrictions, the newspaper said.
Property stocks rose after the report and led a rally in the Shanghai Composite Index. At 0410 GMT, the A-share property subindex was 2.7% higher at 1181.19, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index 0.6% higher at 2396.17.
The housing bureau said the concession has been in place since restrictions were implemented last year, the newspaper said, though it isn't specified in the property regulation.
The bureau in February 2011 said home owners without a "hukou," aren't allowed to buy a second home, but didn't mention any time frame. It also said that before buying a first home, non-hukou holders must pay income tax or social security for at least a year.
Analysts said home purchase restrictions comprise a critical component of the central government's property market tightening policy, and so it is possible the central government will pressure Shanghai authorities to withdraw the concession.
Housing prices and sales in Shanghai and many other Chinese cities have fallen in recent months due to the tightening policy, and analysts expect further price corrections as central government officials have recently reiterated their determination to cool the overheated market.
Local authorities have been starved of revenue from land sales and property taxes because of the tightening policy, and so have introduced fine-tuning measures to support their housing markets. But some such measures have been struck down by the central government--most recently last week in the eastern city of Wuhu--indicating a lack of tolerance toward those attempting to circumvent national policy.
"We aren't sure whether the central government will object to Shanghai's extension of the definition of a 'hukou' resident," said CIMB Securities analyst Johnson Hu.
Hu also said local governments' relaxing of home purchase restrictions will nonetheless become a trend.
Newspaper website:
http://www.cnstock.com.cn Source: Dow Jones Newswires
It's all about "how much you made when you were right" & "how little you lost when you were wrong"