(Yicai) May 21 -- China's easing housing policies are showing immediate signs of increased interest among buyers in the southeastern tech hub of Shenzhen, according to market insiders.

Last weekend, transactions of second-hand homes in Shenzhen surged by 60 percent compared to the previous weekend, according to data from the Zhongyuan Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. That was the first weekend after the central government announced the removal of a minimum mortgage rate for commercial banks and reduced down payment ratios.

From May 18 to 19, the number of property viewings of pre-owned homes in the city known for expensive housing more than doubled from this year's average to the highest level since 2018, according to Leyoujia, a leading real estate agency platform. The number of such transactions also grew by more than two times.

Huang Deyuan, a store manager of Leyoujia, said to Yicai that last weekend, the Shenzhen branch had around 50 groups of clients for property viewings, which is a significant increase compared to the usual range of 10 to 15 parties. Huang said that the recent policy shifts have brought about significant improvements. Previously, most clients had a "just looking" mentality, but now many clients are actually signing deals.

Even new homes are attracting more interest. Last week, sales of new properties based on area jumped by 19 percent from a week ago, per data from the China Index Academy.

Still, builders remain cautious. A source from a real estate company told Yicai that more potential buyers are visiting the firm's projects in Shenzhen but transactions remain relatively low.

"The actual situation of the property market is not as booming as portrayed on the internet," the above-mentioned person said, adding that the central government's lowered down payment ratio has not yet been implemented in Shenzhen.

If the down payment ratio is cut but property developers' debt repayment pressures increase, the situation will not significantly improve so the effectiveness of the policies remains to be seen, another industry insider analyzed.

Editor: Emmi Laine