Beijing lifts restriction on foreign homebuyers

Overseas Chinese can also buy apartments as long as they work, study or live in the capital

Foreigners with work permits who have no property in Beijing can now buy one residential apartment without having to work in the city for a minimum period, local authorities have said.

Before the new regulation, foreigners were required to work for at least one year in the capital before they became eligible to buy an apartment there, as part of efforts mirrored in four other Chinese cities that restrict non-residents buying property in order to curb rising house prices.