Beijing and Shanghai Further Relax Policies to Boost Home Sales

China’s two most expensive housing markets — Beijing and Shanghai — unveiled a further relaxation of homebuying policies, including a lower down-payment ratio, as part of efforts to boost the country’s property market.

The two cities have reduced the down-payments house-buyers must make, scrapped the price cap that defined an “ordinary home” allowing more properties to qualify for a lower down-payment and lowered taxes for home sellers.