Beijing Issues Notice Allowing Divorced Individuals to Purchase Homes Under First-home Loan Policy
Beijing recently announced that even if divorced for less than a year but without owning a property in Beijing, individuals can purchase homes under the first-home loan policy. This move indicates a relaxation of property control policies in Beijing. Some critics believe that the Chinese Communist authorities are merely encouraging people to buy homes to harvest their wealth.
News of Beijing easing home purchase conditions for divorced individuals began to circulate online on April 22. According to the “Notice on the Implementation Principles of Housing Units Recognition Standards for Personal Housing Loans in Our City” jointly issued by the Beijing branch of the People’s Bank of China, the Beijing Office of the National Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, and the Beijing Housing and Urban-Rural Development Commission, individuals applying for housing loans who have been divorced for less than a year and do not own a property in Beijing can qualify for the first-home loan policy.
As reported by the “Beijing News,” the notice has been officially issued, and from April 23 onwards, those who sign purchase contracts can proceed under this new regulation. Banks can reasonably determine the specific down payment ratio and interest rate levels for each loan based on factors such as their operating conditions and customer risk.
In August 2021, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development clearly stipulated that in cases of divorce in Beijing, if the original family did not meet the requirements of Beijing’s commercial housing purchase restrictions regarding the number of properties owned before the divorce, neither party could purchase commercial housing in the city for three years after the divorce.
According to Zhang Dawei, Chief Analyst at Centaline Property, with market changes, property policies are gradually relaxing in small steps, with a new policy almost every month.
Data from Collier International shows that the real estate market in Beijing remained sluggish in the first quarter of this year.
On April 9, Collier International held a media briefing on the review of the Beijing real estate market in the first quarter of 2024. In the first quarter, a total of 616 high-end residential properties were sold in Beijing, marking a 59.2% and 55.5% decrease compared to the previous period and year-on-year, respectively. At the same time, the pace of new housing supply from developers slowed down, with a 16.2% decrease in the added supply. Additionally, listings in the secondary market remained high, dragging down the average transaction price.
The National Bureau of Statistics of China released data on April 16 showing slight declines in both new and existing home prices in the first quarter of this year in Beijing.
Following the announcement of Beijing’s policy to relax home purchase rules for divorced individuals, nearly a hundred netizens voiced their opinions on Tencent’s platform.
User 9161799 commented, “Encouraging divorce to stimulate real estate! Besides pushing people to buy houses, what else do they have in mind?”
User “傻傻” remarked, “Can’t sell Beijing homes anymore? Splitting a family into two households can afford to buy one? Those who can afford it don’t lack money, and those who lack money can’t afford it. It’s already tough enough to live, why deceive others and lose your conscience?”
“火燒雲” stated, “The bottom line has once again been breached. There is an idiom that goes ‘in name only,’ and another one called ‘by fair means or foul.'”
Many netizens believe that this measure will not have a significant effect on stimulating home purchases.
“卡拉娃” argued, “With house prices falling, how many people would divorce just to buy a cheaper house?”
“威廉（Williaming）” commented, “Look at the current stock market; the real estate market is the same. If houses don’t drop in price, all the ‘positive news’ is just the market manipulators harvesting the people.”
“光明” said, “The real estate industry is dying, with no hope for a rebound as the middle class is tied up in the stock market and unable to afford property.”
“北斗星” suggested that the Chinese authorities’ encouragement for people to buy homes is just a way of exploiting them: “A house traps the wealth of three generations of ordinary people, burdened with debt for decades, and when property prices plummet again, it’s almost time to harvest the people’s wealth!”