Fitch sees tighter H2 housing market

Source: Xinhua | 2017-07-04

CHINA’S housing market will continue to cool in the second half due to stricter home purchase restrictions and tighter credit conditions, Fitch Ratings says in its latest report.

Weaker credit and tougher rules to curb the overheated market are likely to drag down home sales growth in the second half of this year while home prices are likely to fall slightly amid weaker demand, Fitch said.

Home sales will stall nationally, rather than fall, in the second half as the government is expected to take a cautious approach to avoid significant volatility.

Home prices in first-tier cities, where demand remains strong and land supply is tight, are expected to hold up better than lower-tier ones where demand is weaker and developers’ housing inventories are higher.