Property lending expands after prodding by PBOC

Central bank wants more mortgages to be processed for first-time homebuyers

Lending to developers has risen in recent months as the central bank prods financial institutions to reactivate the property market, which has been hit by sagging sales and falling prices.

Wen Bin, principal researcher at China Minsheng Banking Co Ltd, said that the housing market is clearly overstocked, so commercial banks increased lending to the sector after the People's Bank of China told them in May to speed up mortgage approvals, mainly to first-time buyers.