Wenzhou in Zhejiang province has quietly loosened purchase restrictions in the housing market by permitting both local residents and non-local households to buy second homes, sources said.

In an internal document acquired by a source who asked to remain unnamed the Wenzhou home regulator decided to slacken its former grip on home purchases.

Wenzhou was one of the nation's 46 cities that imposed restrictions on buying homes on the back of central government guidance issued in 2011. The municipal government published a regulation in March 2011 stipulating that all households could buy just one apartment subsequently, no matter whether they had homes or not before.