Cities offer housing subsidy for talents

The city competition for talents in China heats up, as an increasing number of cities offer favorable housing policies to attract residents.

Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province is one of the most recent entrants to join in. Last Sunday, the city published its latest policy interpretation for talent attraction.

Fresh undergraduates and postgraduates moving to Ningbo for employment are given a one-off living subsidy of 10,000 yuan ($1,490) and 30,000 yuan, respectively. The city also offers a 200,000 to 600,000 yuan home purchase subsidy and a maximum of 8 million yuan in household settlement subsidies for eligible high-end talents.

Hohhot, the northern city in China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, offers qualified graduates 50 percent off for home purchases and two years of free accommodation in certain districts of the city to lure skilled personnel.

Experts believe these policies were set to introduce talents, instead of regulating the property market. The aim is to attract skilled residents to optimize the demographic mix and boost the economy, said Yan Yuejin, director of the Shanghai-based E-house China Research and Development Institution.

While these measures could actually stimulate the property market, real estate speculation should be avoided, Yan said.

Up till now, more than 60 cities have introduced talent introduction and settlement policies, according to data from Centaline Property Research Center. Preferential policies, unprecedented in terms of quality and quantity, including household registration and home purchase subsidies, have sprung up in China, especially in second- and third-tier cities.

Cities such as Changzhou, Haikou, Xi'an, Nanjing and Shijiazhuang have lowered their thresholds for household registration and implemented specific housing policies for talents. In particular, Xi'an in Shaanxi province and Nanjing in Jiangsu province have offered more favorable talent policies over last year.