China on Friday announced steps hoping to stabilize its crisis-hit property sector, with the central bank releasing an additional 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion, €127.6 million) in funding, as well as loosening mortgage regulation.
As part of the measures, Beijing cut the minimum downpayment for first-time buyers and suggested the government could buy up commercial real estate, as China tries to boost an ailing housing market amid and property developer debt crisis.
China Real Estate Business, a newspaper managed by the housing ministry, described the policies as "heavyweight," saying they marked "a significant historic moment" for the beleaguered sector.
"It's a bold step," Raymond Yeung, chief Greater China economist at ANZ Bank, told Reuters news agency.
Property and construction accounts for more than a quarter of China's gross domestic product, but the sector has been under unprecedented pressure since 2020, when authorities tightened developers' access to credit in a bid to cut debt.
Since then, major firms, including China Evergrande and Country Garden, have teetered on the brink, while falling prices have put off consumers from potentially investing in the property sector.
The original article contains 255 words, the summary contains 172 words. Saved 33%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!