BUSINESS

Beijing Eases Home-Purchase Rules for Nonlocals and Larger Families

Published: Dec. 25, 2025 12:27 a.m. GMT+8

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Commercial housing in Beijing’s Fengtai district. Photo: VCG

Beijing further relaxed its property market restrictions on Wednesday, lowering the bar for nonlocal residents to buy homes and allowing families with multiple children to purchase an additional property in the city’s core.

The new measures, announced in a notice by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and three other government bodies, also include adjustments to mortgage policies.

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Beijing eased property restrictions, lowering tax payment years needed for nonlocal buyers and allowing families with multiple children to purchase more homes.
Mortgage policies were relaxed, including no distinction between first and second homes for commercial loan rates and a reduced down payment for second properties.
Despite these changes, new-home sales dropped 12.4% year-on-year in 2025, and Beijing's approach remains more cautious than other major Chinese cities.

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Who’s Who

China Index Academy: The China Index Academy is a real estate research firm. They provided data indicating that over 80% of new-home sales and more than half of secondary-home transactions in Beijing in 2025 occurred outside the Fifth Ring Road. They also noted that allowing multi-child families to purchase more homes is primarily aimed at addressing upgraded housing demands related to education and living space. Their data further showed a 12.4% year-on-year drop in new commercial home sales in Beijing for the first 11 months of 2025.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

2010：: Beijing began implementing property purchase limits.

2024：: The easing cycle for Beijing’s property market began, starting with the suburbs.

By August 2025：: Purchase caps for Beijing residents buying homes outside the Fifth Ring Road were removed.

2025：: New property market measures announced in Beijing, including lower requirements for nonlocal buyers and provision for families with multiple children to buy an additional home.

2025：: Banks will no longer need to differentiate between first and second homes when setting commercial mortgage rates; housing provident fund minimum down payment for a second home lowered to 25%.

As of 2025：: Beijing’s property market easing measures remain restrained compared to other cities; Guangzhou has fully lifted purchase restrictions, while Shanghai and Shenzhen continue to ease rules in suburban districts.

First 11 months of 2025：: The sales area of new commercial homes in Beijing fell 12.4% year-on-year to 4.59 million square meters; 157,000 existing homes sold, up 1.9% year-on-year.

Second half of 2025：: Tier-1 cities, including Beijing, faced growing downward pressure on home prices, a rapid increase in preowned-home listings, and slower new-home sales.