Top-level adviser urges reversal of property restrictions

A top-level adviser to China’s central bank recommended Tuesday that Beijing loosen its restrictions on the property sector to avoid triggering a drop in house prices that would burden middle-class households, the Financial Times reported. In a commentary in New Fortune magazine, Li Daokui cautioned that policies should be adjusted to boost the number of housing transactions and provide a soft landing for the real estate sector. In an indication of how contentious the issue has become, Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily ran a front-page editorial arguing that the current restrictions must remain in place to restore housing prices to a reasonable level. Housing price growth has slowed and reversed in many cities in recent months as government restrictions to limit the property bubble – including higher down payment requirements and higher mortgage rates – have begun to take effect.