Shanghai, Hangzhou move to aid property markets

SHANGHAI, Oct 15  - The city governments of Shanghai and Hangzhou are introducing measures to aid their slumping residential real estate markets, official media reported on Wednesday.

The maximum subsidised housing loan for an individual making a first-time purchase of a home in Shanghai has been doubled to 200,000 yuan ($29,300), the Shanghai Securities News said.

Authorities in nearby Hangzhou will now offer residential status to outsiders buying homes in the old area of the city, not merely the new area, and relax financial requirements and other restrictions on developers of residential housing, it said.

Roughly a dozen smaller cities across China have in recent weeks taken similar steps to try to strengthen their property markets, where prices have been softening and transactions shrinking as the economy slows.

In late September, Nanjing introduced cash subsidies and lowered transaction taxes to encourage home buyers. ($1 = 6.83 yuan) (Reporting by Andrew Torchia)