EASTERN China’s Qingdao has joined more than two dozen major cities in rolling out property curbs as speculators from outside flood the market, while Nanjing in the east intensified policy curbs to tame the market, according to a media report and government announcement Wednesday.

    Qingdao non-residents were now limited to buying at most one property in the city, in the eastern province of Shandong, on the condition that they had paid at least one year of local taxes or insurance continuously, it said.

    Policymakers also hiked the down payment ratio for first and second home purchases by 10 percent, to 30 and 40 percent respectively, according to Qingdao News, which cited a notice jointly issued by five government bodies including the central bank’s Qingdao branch.

    Banks would stop issuing mortgages for third home purchases, it said.

    The rules, effective from March 16, also tightened lending conditions for homebuyers borrowing from the country’s housing fund, which offers a lower interest rate on mortgages than banks.

    Nanjing suspended sales for residents who already own two houses in the city’s core area, according to a notice on the city government’s website.

    Non-residents are required to have paid at least two years of taxes and insurance to be qualified to buy their first homes.

    (SD-Agencies)