More cities to relax housing restrictions

Local governments in second-tier cities are rushing to relax curbs on home purchases, and some are even urging people to "buy now" as sluggish property sales undercut local fiscal revenue.

Hebei province said on Thursday that the government will continue to offer tax breaks to "maintain a healthy property market". For example, there will not be any personal income tax on sales of apartments owned for at least five years.

Meanwhile, in Jiangsu province, the government-backed Changzhou Daily published a front-page ad on Tuesday declaring that "now is the best time to buy a home, as realty prices will not fall any further".