CITIES struggling with slowing sales and rising inventories have been devising creative plans to cushion their markets.

Hengyang, a city of 7 million in southern Hunan Province, offered a bold solution to stimulate sales last week: It allowed homebuyers to borrow more from the Housing Provident Fund (HPF), reversing steps in July 2018 to reduce such borrowing.

The fund was established in 1999 to help employees finance their own homes. First-time buyers can use HPF loans for as much as 80 percent of the purchase price, up from 70 percent previously, while those looking to buy a second home can utilize such loans for up to 70 percent compared with 50 percent, Hengyang authorities said.

China has been calling for more targeted city-based policies to stabilize markets, but the policy tweaking is now tilted towards ensuring that house prices don’t fall sharply, said a property developer familiar with local government thinking in eastern Zhejiang Province.

The sharp cooling in land auctions in some areas last year put great pressure on local government finances, a land ministry official said.

In a document dated Jan. 10, Dazhou, a city of over 5 million in southwestern Sichuan Province, detailed 12 measures to ensure the “steady and healthy development” of its property market.

They included subsidies for developers for new apartment sales at 100 yuan per square meter, and less stringent upfront investment requirements for developers to start sales.

(SD-Agencies)