(Yicai) Sept. 3 -- Shanghai's new and second-hand property markets both rebounded right after the city relaxed its home-buying restrictions, following a similar move by Beijing early last month.

"The week after the new policies were implemented, the number of visits to our project increased 50 percent compared with the previous week," the sales supervisor at a real estate project in Jiading New Town told Yicai, adding that the policies clearly released a new wave of market demand.

On Aug. 26, Shanghai removed the limit on how many homes buyers can purchase in suburban areas. Residents with local household registration and non-locals who have paid income tax or contributed to social security for at least a year can now buy unlimited homes beyond the Outer Ring Road. Moreover, the city increased borrowing support for homebuyers.

The day after the new policies were implemented, a large new housing project in Baoshan district with more than 1,000 apartments put 160 new units up for sale, which were all sold out that day, Wang Liping, marketing director of the project, told Yicai. "The new policies will likely bring more than 20 percent additional customers to this project, supporting its sales."

A new project in Qingpu district hit the market on Aug. 30, and sales exceeded CNY400 million (USD56 million) that day, with most large apartments sold out immediately. Many of the buyers were residents who already owned a home and were not allowed to acquire a new property before selling their old one, per the previous policies.

The preowned home market also rebounded with the implementation of the new policies. On Aug. 30, 1,103 second-hand homes were sold in Shanghai, surpassing the 1,000 units mark for the first time in two months.

The new policies are prompting customers who had a wait-and-see attitude and those who were restricted from buying to place orders, while alleviating their financial pressure to some extent, the sales director of a Huafa Group project in Songjiang district told Yicai.

Residents who wish to improve their housing condition were the main home-buying customers over the past week, as their purchase willingness was no longer restricted by policies, real estate developers told Yicai. The new policies also enhanced homebuyers' ability to obtain loans, driving the transaction volume of many projects, with some even selling out on their debut, the developers added.

"Shanghai's new real estate policies play a crucial role in alleviating the transaction pressure in the housing market outside the Outer Ring Road," Cheng Yu, executive deputy general manager at the Shanghai corporate division of the China Index Academy, told Yicai.

"By releasing reasonable housing demand and helping customers reduce home purchase costs, the new policies are expected to activate part of the previously suppressed demand, thereby alleviating the real estate inventory pressure of the whole city and promoting the market to gradually stabilize," Cheng added.

The new policies will not only consolidate Shanghai's real estate market but also help the city become a leader in the recovery of the industry across major Chinese cities, said Zhang Bo, research director at the 58 Anjuke Research Institute.

Shanghai's new policies are also expected to bring a significant sales boost to the traditional sales peak season from September to October, executives of multiple new housing projects told Yicai.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione