There are signs that parts of China's depressed property market might be starting to turn around, according to an article in today's 21st Century Business Herald.
The article says that property transactions in first- and second tier-cities picked up quickly in March.
This up-tick in transactions is also coinciding with what the paper refers to as a 'fourth round of housing stimulus policy'.
China's property market will experience a partial recovery in 2015, one that will be concentrated in particular regions, according to the article.
While the large oversupply of apartments in third- and fourth-tier cities means that major developers will still remain cautious when it comes to leasing new plots.
Housing policies in 2015 are expected to continue to ease, according to analysts quoted in the article, but the impact of this policy easing will be largely limited to first- and second-tier cities.
The article refers to four rounds of housing policy:
Round one occurred in 2014 and was focused on the removal of purchase restrictions in many cities.
The second round was when the central bank moved to remove certain restrictions on lending and to lower lending rates.
The third round related to the announcement of various subsidies by local governments across the country and the PBoC's second rate cut.
The current round is focused on encouraging owner-occupiers in the residential property market.
The capital of Shandong province eased the rules that determine who is eligible for certain preferential deposit and lending conditions via the housing fund, according to an announcement made by Jinan's Housing Fund Management Centre yesterday.
On the same day, the central housing fund management centre also announced new measures.
Zhang Dawei, the chief analyst with Centaline Property Agency, told the paper that it was clear that housing market policies would continue to ease in 2015.
There was hope that business taxes could be lowered, that some first-tier cities would continue to loosen purchase restrictions and that local government would move to directly reduce taxes and provide subsidies in order to rescue the market.