Zhengzhou, the capital of central Henan province with a population of more than 12m people, has become the first mainland Chinese city to ease restrictions on buying a second home, as more local authorities take measures to reverse a nationwide residential property market slump.

The city’s banks have lowered the mortgage rate for second-home buyers, according to a document posted on the website of Zhengzhou’s government this week. The document also listed 19 nw measures aimed at helping real estate development.

Most important among them is allowing close relatives of people who work in Zhengzhou to buy a home in the city, and another measure enabling buyers who have already fully repaid one mortgage to then enjoy a ‘first-time’ mortgage rate on a second home.

“Zhengzhou became the first city that totally lost both caps on home purchases as well as home mortgages. The measures are strong and can help the dormant market pick up,” said Du Haomin, a property analyst with Sinolink Securities.