Shanghai removed more restrictions on home buying on May 27, allowing eligible single buyers to buy pre-owned homes in the downtown area and families with more than one child to buy an extra residential property, according to official sources.

The municipal government of the East China metropolis issued a nine-item notice on May 27 that takes effect from May 28 that includes the adjustment of home purchase restrictions to support reasonable home living requirements for families with more than one child, the optimization of credit policies, encouragement of trade-ins, and improvement of land and housing supply.

Specifically, non-local people will be able to buy an apartment in the city, as long as they have paid tax in Shanghai for three years. Previously, the requirement called for them to have paid tax in the city for five years or more.

Non-local single buyers who do not have a property in Shanghai but who work there are eligible to buy a used apartment in the city.

On Jan 30, Shanghai issued a new policy stating that non-local people in Shanghai, who have paid tax for five years or more, can buy a flat beyond the city's Outer Ring Road with the exception of the Chongming district.

All families with two children or more can buy an extra residential property, the notice added.

The decision was made to support reasonable home living demands and promote the stable and healthy development of the property market, said the notification issued jointly by the Shanghai Municipal Administrative Committee of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Housing Management, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources, and the Shanghai Municipal Tax Service of the State Taxation Administration.