China's home prices continue to cool in January
Major Chinese cities reported falling home prices in January with narrowing declines, official data showed on Friday.  The National Bureau of Statistics said 56 of 70 large and medium-sized cities saw month-on-month drops in new home prices, down from 62 in December 2023, and 68 registered price declines for second-hand homes, compared to 70 in the previous month. Policymakers have increased pressure on banks to boost their property loans through so-called white lists. In a flurry of activity, state-owned lenders have earmarked at least 124 billion yuan (US$17 billion) of loans for property works eligible for support, state media reported this week. This week, the government also increased support for the troubled property sector with its biggest-ever cut to a key mortgage reference rate. That will allow more cities to reduce minimum mortgage rates, which can entice home-buyers as prices fall. The country's central bank on Tuesday announced its biggest ever reduction in the benchmark mortgage rate, although analysts believe its impact on home prices will be limited given existing mortgage holders will not benefit until next year. (Xinhua/Reuters)