Interest rate cut a boon to big-city developers

The central bank's surprise interest rate cut over the weekend will be a shot in the arm for the flagging property market, with bigger cities getting the largest benefit, according to analysts.

The second interest rate reduction in three months was not primarily targeted at supporting the housing market, but the sector will benefit anyway through lower borrowing costs for developers and homebuyers seeking mortgages.

The People's Bank of China announced on Saturday it was cutting benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points. That move took the one-year lending rate to 5.35 percent and the rate on longer-term loans with maturities of up to five years to 5.75 percent.