China’s Escalating Property Curbs Point to Xi’s New Priority
- Analysts expect long-term restrictions for real-estate sector
- Vice Premier against using property for short-term stimulus
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After a years-long campaign to tame property prices, China is upping the ante to break a stubborn cycle of gains that’s made homes increasingly unaffordable.
In recent days, China jacked up mortgage rates in a major city, vowed to accelerate the development of government subsidized rental housing, and moved to increase scrutiny on everything from financing of developers and newly-listed home prices to title transfers. Echoing Xi Jinping’s famous words that “housing is for living in and not for speculation,” Vice Premier Han Zheng added that the sector shouldn’t be used as a short-term tool to stimulate the economy.