Beijing announced a suite of new measures designed to revive its housing market on Thursday, but investors appeared disappointed, with the market slumping in response.
Measures included the removal of purchase restrictions, sales restrictions and price caps, the South China Morning Post reported. Housing minister Ni Hong also announced further mortgage rate cuts, reduced down payment ratios and the unification of mortgage rules.
Loans for “whitelist” real estate projects would reach 4 trillion yuan by the end of the year, almost double the amount granted between January and September, Ni said. Eligibility criteria would also be expanded to include all commercial housing projects. (Introduced at the start of this year, the “whitelist” initiative allows city governments to recommend unfinished residential projects to banks for speedier lending.)
[See more: Beijing announces new stimulus measures to boost the economy]
Ni told media that “the bottoming out of the property market had begun,” pointing to improved housing sales in October.
However, despite what the Post described as an “all-out effort to stabilise the economically vital property sector,” the CSI 300 real estate index (comprising top Shanghai and Shenzhen stocks) fell by nearly eight percent after the briefing – indicating that investors were not satisfied, CNBC reported. The index had jumped five percent on Wednesday, in anticipation of a stronger plan.
Beijing started announcing its latest series of stimulus measures in late September, including a pledge to spend as “necessary” to meet the country’s economic growth target of about 5 percent.
