7 Chinese cities that still restrict home buying

Updated: 2014-09-18 13:22 (chinadaily.com.cn)

No 4 Shenzhen

According to Chen Aipin, vice president of Shenzhen Housing Research Association, 77 percent of people with a Shenzhen huhou, a permanent residency permit, own their own home and if Shenzhen lifts home buying restrictions, housing prices may rise quickly due to the city's demographic characteristics and potential demand for home.

Shenzhen, an economic powerhouse in Guangdong province and located near Hong Kong, was in the forefront of China's opening up and reform process and has witnessed rapid growth since the 1980s. Most people living and working in this city do not have a ShenzhenHukou.

Compared to other municipal governments, Shenzen does not rely heavily on generating revenue by selling land to developers, so it is not that eager to lift home buying restrictions.