By Jiahui Huang
Chinese property stocks rose in Hong Kong after Beijing scrapped longstanding restrictions on the number of homes city residents can buy in suburban areas, the latest move to revive the country's ailing real-estate sector and address a supply glut.
The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index rose as much as 1.7% on Monday before paring gains to 1.1% by midday, outperforming the benchmark Hang Seng Index's 0.2% increase.
Longfor Group climbed 2.6% and China Resources Land was 1.9% higher. Sunac China rose 1.4%, while China Vanke and Yuexiu Property added 1.0% each.
The gains came after authorities in China's capital lifted the cap on suburban property purchases for eligible families, seeking to spur home sales and investment in the real-estate sector. Before Friday's announcement, Beijing residents were allowed to buy up to two properties in the city.
The boost to market sentiment was modest, however, indicating that the city government's move was unlikely to move the needle much on China's property-sector downturn.
"I don't think this is important from [a] macro perspective, because Beijing only accounts for a small part of China's property market," said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
Other analysts expressed similar doubts that the loosened property rules in the capital city would fix the country's protracted real-estate crisis.
"The timing of Beijing's policy relaxation is slightly surprising, but we view the move as in line with the central government's tone of removing buying curbs in non-central areas," Morningstar equity analyst Jeff Zhang said.
He said he viewed the action as "incremental easing," given that most Chinese cities have already removed restrictive measures. "This could mildly boost home transactions nationwide."
Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 11, 2025 01:55 ET (05:55 GMT)
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