(Bloomberg) -- China’s capital city Beijing will allow families to buy one more home in non-core areas, as even the nation’s largest cities are buckling under the pressure of a record real estate downturn. 

Households that reach current homeownership limits will be allowed to purchase another outside the fifth ring, according to a statement from the city’s housing commission.

The relaxation comes after Beijing in September reduced down payment ratios and eased the threshold for some types of housing to qualify for lower mortgages. 

Since then, the city government has carried out marginal easing, including relaxing buying curbs in suburban Tongzhou district. It also scrapped a rule banning divorced couples from buying new homes in the capital if they owned more units than allowed. 

China’s home prices plunged in March at an even faster pace than the previous month, extending a three-year decline and making property one of the biggest drags on economic growth. Former real estate giant China Evergrande Group received a liquidation order, and Country Garden Holdings Co. is facing the same risks. Now even high profile state-backed China Vanke Co. is facing liquidity problems. Property investment slumped 9.5% in the first quarter.

China’s government has stepped up its rhetoric for real estate support. The nation’s housing minister said in early March that the country faces a “severe task” to stabilize the home market. Weeks later, Premier Li Qiang called for “systematic planning of relevant supportive policies” for property to stimulate demand. 

New residential sales in Beijing have been lackluster since February, with weekly sales lower than January’s average, according to property agency China Index Holdings. The city’s existing home transactions have been better, in line with a broader shift among the country’s buyers.  

--With assistance from Evelyn Yu.

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