China tightens credit for second homes

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is targeting excess speculation, calling for stricter rules for banks offering loans to those who are not first-time buyers. The ministry has also promised to build more affordable houses.

Preferential policies launched last year to aid what was then a struggling real estate sector will now be tweaked or scrapped. One measure being discussed is keeping in place preferential mortgage rates only for people buying their first homes.

The government has already begun to wind down some of the stimulus measures that powered recovery in the sector last year.