By ZHANG Ziyi

The real estate market of manufacturing hub Dongguan in Guangdong Province is facing a bleak downturn despite the authorities’ efforts to relax restrictions on purchasing or sales and lowering mortgage interest rates. The city that saw the steepest inflation of housing prices in 2020 is now facing the consequences of speeding things up.

The city government said on Monday that purchase restrictions were lifted in the city apart from four downtown districts and the Songshan Lake Hi-tech Zone, which means an individual or a family can now own more than two homes in many outer regions of the city.

Dongguan had already issued policies to boost the real estate market twice this year. The city is seeing the worst market since 2007. Only an average of 1,709 new homes were sold each month from January to May, data from Centaline Property showed, down 53 percent compared with last year. The second-hand home market also shrank by more than half.