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China housing: Can the world’s biggest housing market boom again?
Authorities have unleashed a series of rescue measures to buoy the property industry since November, including offering credit support to indebted developers for fundraising and easing the criteria facing someone wishing to buy a house.
In one recent example, the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced a pilot program on Monday to allow private equity investors to launch funds and invest in residential and commercial real estate and infrastructure projects. This was seen as a move aimed at boosting liquidity among the builders in China.
Some 30 local governments loosened home purchase restrictions in December and January, including by lowering mortgage rates and cutting down-payments for first-time buyers to boost demand.
“Looking ahead, we expect the market to perform well in March,” said the report written by Yang Kewei and other analysts with CRIC.
“On the other hand, we can see a recovery in the lived-in home market, which is showing an improvement in purchase sentiment among residents,” the report said.
However, the report warned that the uptick in sales in February was partly due to a low base in the previous month and in February last year caused by the Lunar New Year holidays. Home sales are usually very low during this period.
Whether the market can continue its recovery or not will depend on “supply volume and the recovery of demand and purchasing power by residents”, the report concluded.
