Beijing moves to curb housing prices

Beijing

BEIJING has just implemented a series of measures to curb a growing bubble in housing prices, but analysts say these remain targeted and should not impact the recent pickup of economic activity.

Property prices in first-tier cities have more than doubled year-on-year as mortgage rules eased and banks lent freely.

Since January, prices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangdong have jumped by 28 per cent.

To prevent prices from rising further, nine cities have announced measures to tighten the red hot market including restrictive measures on purchases, tightening access on mortgages, and lowering loan-to-value ratio…