Signs of housing loan rebound in China's capital "worth attention"

[BEIJING] The latest figures of new home loans in China's capital, Beijing, has raised eyebrows again, as their growth rebounded from the previous month despite property curbs to contain sharp price rises, state news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday.

New mortgage loans extended by commercial banks in Beijing rose 13 per cent in November to 33.9 billion yuan (S$7.03 billion) from a month earlier, Xinhua said, citing Beijing's banking regulator. "This phenomenon is worth our attention," Xinhua said.

It said Beijing's new mortgage loans hit a record high in September, before major Chinese cities released stricter tightening measures in the first week of October.

As a result, new mortgage loans fell more than 20 per cent to 30 billion yuan in October compared with the previous month.

Data on Wednesday showed banks extended a record 794.6 billion yuan in new yuan loans in November, of which more than 70 per cent was primarily home mortgages.

In November, year-on-year property sales growth measured by floor area, and property investment growth, both slowed significantly from the previous month, despite still standing at a solid 7.9 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively .

REUTERS