Beijing curbs to cool home prices

Higher down payment limits for second home seen pressuring buyers

The Beijing municipal government strengthened policies against the speculative buying of residential apartments on Friday to stabilize the housing market, including increasing the down-payment requirements for buyers of a second home from 50 percent to 60 percent of the full price.

Buyers of a second home, according to the new policies, are defined as those who have a record of residential property ownership, or have a record of a mortgage, while in the past only those who have had a record of mortgage were defined as buyers of a second home when they applied for a new mortgage.