In an attempt to slow the rapid growth of its national housing market, the Chinese government has instructed its central bank to raise down payment requirements and interest rates for second-home mortgages in cities that have shown ‘excessively fast’ price gains.
Bloomberg News reports that the Chinese government continues to express concern over the ‘relatively large’ pressure that rising housing prices have placed in the major metropolitan markets. Prices on new homes in China rose for a ninth straight month in February, and Premier Wen Jiabao has called on municipal governments to ‘decisively’ curb real estate speculation and restrict the number of residential properties that can be purchased.