China to Limit Credit for Home Purchases to Counter Speculation
January 05, 2010, 10:23 PM EST
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Chinaâs government said it will curb credit for home purchases to reduce speculation and rein in surging real-estate prices.
The nation will âfurther restrict credit for the purchase of second homes and curb speculative housing investments,â Jiang Weixin, the housing minister, said in a statement on the ministryâs Web site today. He didnât elaborate.
Premier Wen Jiabao pledged Dec. 27 to tackle âexcessiveâ property-price gains in some cities. Prices across 70 cities rose at the fastest pace in 16 months in November, amid concern that record lending and inflows of capital from abroad are creating asset bubbles in the worldâs third-biggest economy.
âThey are trying to prevent a full-blown bubble,â said Lee Wee Liat, a Hong Kong-based property analyst at Nomura International Hong Kong Ltd. Lee sees potential bubbles in real estate in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
Jiangâs statement, after an annual work meeting by the ministry, said China will add to stocks of low-cost housing in cities with high prices. The government will also crack down on property hoarding by developers and fake pricing and sales, and ensure that housing demolition is legal, he said.
China may raise downpayment requirements for purchases of second homes to 50 percent, Beijing Business Today reported Dec. 21, citing an unidentified person. The current level is 40 percent, the newspaper said.
Local governments are already tightening property rules.
In Shanghai, home buyers must prove they are first-time purchasers before benefiting from a reduced deed tax on property transactions, the city government said Dec. 31. People buying second homes must show their existing living space is smaller than the cityâs average to qualify for a minimum 20 percent down payment and a 30 percent discount on mortgage interest rates, the government said.