Some cities in China recently started to implement restrictions aimed at cooling down the overheated property market. Among the cities are Baoding, Changsha and Sanya.

Baoding sets up lock-up period of 10 years

Baoding, in north China's Hebei Province, has introduced a lock-up period of 10 years for certain kinds of residential housing. The city, which neighbors Beijing, says that owners of those homes now have to wait 10 years  after registration to list their properties for sale. Affected houses are what are called "affordable" homes, which were given that status after developers acquired land from the government by offering the highest prices under fixed home prices or by offering the lowest home prices at fixed land costs. In the meantime, the new measures ensure that the affordable homes are assigned to qualified buyers through a supervised lottery system.

Changsha issues curbs for its property market

The local government in the central Chinese city of Changsha has stepped up restrictions on its property market. Local families can't purchase homes if they own two properties in restricted districts while non-local families can own only one. Families with no home ownership are qualified to buy residential housing only if they have paid income taxes or have contributed to the social security fund for one year. The new measures came on top of curbs issued in March as home prices in Changsha continued to rise in April. 

Purchase limits cool home sales in Sanya

Sanya lies on the southern tip of south China's island province of Hainan. Its sea views and tropical climate has drawn investors from around the country to buy property. Real estate sales surged more than 100 percent in the first quarter of 2017 compared with a year ago. To curb speculation, the local government has limited residents from outside of Hainan to purchase just one house. The government has also outlawed the sale of property within two years of acquisition. And the effects of these measures have already been seen.