Shanghai eases definition of 'ordinary' apartments

The Shanghai municipal government relaxed definitions for ordinary homes on Thursday, the first revision since March 2012, which will allow more home buyers to enjoy preferential mortgages.

An apartment located within the city's Inner Ring Road and priced at less than 4.5 million yuan ($734,682) will be defined as an ordinary house, according to the circular issued by the Shanghai municipal government. The price limit set in the new standard is about 36 percent higher than in the old standard.

Homes located between the Inner Ring and the Outer Ring and priced at less than 3.1 million yuan (about 55 percent higher than the old standard), and those located outside the Outer Ring and priced less than 2.3 million yuan ( 43 percent higher than the old standard) are now defined as ordinary houses, according to the new rules.