Easing home loans no help for slumping market

Zhou Bingguo expected to find a few buyers for the 20 apartments for sale next to Beijing's Central Business District in the first week of October, he said. It was the Golden Week holiday, traditionally a peak time for home sales, and China had just eased mortgage restrictions.

"Quite a few people visited, but nobody bought," said Zhou, a consultant in the asset management department of CBD Private Castle, a residential project. "People are still waiting for prices to fall."

China is lowering down payment requirements and discounting mortgages as declining housing sales put a drag on the economy. After four years of government restrictions to cool housing prices that had tripled since 2000, the central bank is reversing course, making it easier for homeowners to buy second properties. They are not likely to get back into the market, several analysts said, until prices become more affordable.