New housing policy 'difficult to implement'

GUANGZHOU - The latest government policy to tighten second-home purchases is expected to further cool the housing market, but experts said it might be difficult to implement due to the independence of the country's housing registration and banking systems.

The policy, issued late on Friday, requires banks to ask for higher down payments and mortgage rates if one of the home-buyer's family members already owns property.

Even if an individual does not own any property at present, banks should also treat him or her as a second home-buyer if they have had a previous mortgage loan, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission said in a joint statement.