(Yicai) May 7 -- Shenzhen saw the number of home sales and inquiries soar to a six-year high during this year's Labor Day holiday after the first-tier Chinese city further relaxed purchase restrictions in core areas at the end of last month.

New home sales in Shenzhen surged 48 percent over the five-day break that ended May 5 from a year earlier, while those of second-hand houses soared 62 percent, according to data from local realtor Leyoujia. In addition, overall viewer numbers jumped more than 25 percent.

Shenzhen's new policy, unveiled and enacted on April 29, lifted the number of homes people holding local household registration can buy in core areas to three from two. In addition, the quota for non-locally registered residents who have paid social insurance or individual income tax in the city for more than one year rose to two from one, while those holding a valid local residence permit can buy one property.

Many clients booked appointments to view homes on the day the new policy kicked in, Leyoujia told Yicai. Some owners planning to trade up by selling their old houses to buy a new one abandoned their original "sell first, buy later" plan and opted to "buy first, sell later," thanks to the expanded purchase quota, it added.

In addition, the new provision allowing those just holding a Shenzhen residence permit to buy a home attracted buyers from across China, Leyoujia pointed out.

The new policy also significantly raised the ceiling for provident fund loans for buyers, with the maximum individual loan limit jumping to CNY1.9 million from CNY1.3 million (USD278,950 from USD190,860) and the maximum household loan limit to CNY3.5 million from CNY2.3 million.

"Inquiries at Excellence Manyue surged 30 percent on the second day after the new policy took effect compared with normal levels," a marketing executive at the project located in a Shenzhen core area said to Yicai. The new policy accelerated buyers' decision-making process, the person noted.

China Resources Land's luxury residential project Shenzhen Bay Yunxi saw sales triple during the May Day holiday compared with the average weekly volume in April, while visitor numbers increased 27 percent. "The holiday period saw a large influx of policy-benefiting high-net-worth groups from Taiwan, Beijing, Guangzhou, and other regions," a salesperson at the project told Yicai.

These non-local buyers generally recognize the asset preservation reliability of properties in Shenzhen's core areas and have adjusted their real estate investment plans following the release of the new policy.

Inquiries and transaction intentions from out-of-town clients living in Zhejiang province, as well as cities like Shenyang and Changsha, jumped during the Labor Day break, frontline brokers at Leyoujia said to Yicai. A client from Zhejiang entrusted a friend in Shenzhen to view homes on his behalf, with plans to complete an application for a local residence permit after the holiday and buy the place online, they said.

Among the three core urban areas benefiting from the relaxed policy, new home sales in Nanshan district more than doubled year over year, with pre-owned house sales soaring 85 percent, according to statistics from Leyoujia. In Futian district, the former also doubled and the latter surged 77 percent, while in Bao'an subdistrict the figures jumped 45 percent and 150 percent, respectively.

"We feel the time is right," several homebuyers told Yicai, with some admitting they originally planned to wait for another six months to observe market changes, but the new rules made them sense potential market shifts and prompted them to go property hunting during the holiday.

Based on data for the first week of May, new home sales in Shenzhen will likely at least match the year-earlier level this month, while second-hand home sales are expected to increase, said Li Yujia, chief researcher at the Guangdong Provincial Academy of Housing Policy Research.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev