© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A construction site of residential buildings by Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured in Tianjin, China August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File photo
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has rolled out a flurry of support measures in recent months to revive its property sector which has been in crisis since policymakers began cracking down on the industry’s debt levels in 2021.
But analysts have said they are not enough to turn around the sector any time soon.
The following is a list of recent measures for the sector which accounts for roughly a quarter of the world’s second-largest economy.
Sept. 14 – China’s central bank said it would cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves for the second time this year to boost liquidity.
Sept 1. – China is set to take further action, sources said. Proposed measures include lifting home-purchasing curbs in non-core districts of major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen and gradually removing price caps on new homes, they said.
Aug. 31 – China’s central bank and financial regulator ease some borrowing rules for homebuyers, including lowering existing mortgage rates for first-home buyers and the down payment ratio in some cities.
Aug. 30-Sept. 1 – Major Chinese cities say they will allow people to take preferential loans for first-home purchases regardless of their credit record.
Aug. 25 – Local governments are permitted to scrap a mortgage rule so that people who have bought a home but then sold it having repaid their mortgage, can get preferential loans as first-time homebuyers, according to state media Xinhua.
Aug. 25 – China’s cabinet approved guidelines for the planning and construction of affordable housing.
Aug. 21 – China cut its one-year benchmark lending rate.
July 24 – China’s top leaders held a Politburo meeting and omitted the phrase “housing for living, not for speculation” in the official readout.
July 21 – The cabinet approved guidelines on transforming “urban villages” or underdeveloped areas in megacities, which will help underpin property investment.
July 10 – China’s central bank extended until the end of 2024 some policies in a November rescue package to shore up the real estate sector.
June 20- China’s central bank cut its key lending benchmarks, or loan prime rates (LPRs), for the first time in 10 months.
Source: Investing.com
