Shanghai backtracks on housing rules after protests

The Shanghai city government has made a partial policy concession after a rare housing protest at the weekend, in an effort to placate middle-class anger at measures to pour cold water on a hot property market. Some 100 demonstrators gathered in the main shopping street of Nanjing Road on Saturday night. The crowd said they had bought “dual-use” homes built on land sold for commercial rather than residential development, and criticized the government’s recent decision to enforce an old rule that restricts such land to commercial use. Middle-class buyers are angered by the possibility they will lose out if the buildings are converted to commercial-use offices. Late on Monday the Shanghai government blamed property developers for “distorting the policy.” However, it relented by allowing buyers of “dual-use” homes to move in, although it did not loosen restrictions on selling the houses, which is a big contention for the homebuyers, according to the Financial Times.