ON Tuesday, Shenzhen became the latest major Chinese city, after Beijing and Shanghai, to reduce taxes on transactions involving large homes.

According to a notice from the city, starting Dec. 1, it will unify favorable tax policies for ordinary and non-ordinary housing.

In Shenzhen, non-ordinary housing usually refers to homes with an area exceeding 144 square meters.

Non-ordinary homes owned for at least two years will qualify for the same 5% value-added tax (VAT) exemption as ordinary homes.

China has rolled out a slew of measures to prop up its sluggish property market, including cutting mortgage rates, lowering down payment ratios, and relaxing purchase restrictions.

In response to these pro-housing policies, China’s property market displayed positive changes in October, with a narrowing of price declines, stronger sales, and an improved market sentiment.

The decline in commercial residential home prices in China’s 70 large and medium-sized cities generally moderated on a month-on-month basis in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

(Xinhua)