China on Friday announced "historic" steps to stabilise the crisis-hit property sector, allowing local governments to buy "some" apartments, relaxing mortgage rules and pledging to deliver unfinished homes. Investors hoped the measures marked the beginning of more decisive government intervention to compensate for waning demand for both new and old apartments, slow down falling prices, and reduce a growing stock of unsold homes. Since the property market began its steep downturn in 2021, a string of developers have defaulted, leaving scores of idle construction sites behind, and sapping confidence in what had for decades been the preferred savings instrument for the Chinese population.
Reuters