China Big Cities to Tighten Mortgages to Prevent Bubbles: Newspaper

Authorities in more big Chinese cities may toughen mortgage reviews and increase waiting periods for granting loan approvals, particularly for pre-owned home purchases, following restrictive policies that have slowed transactions and narrowed price gains, the 21st Century Business Herald reported. Buyers for pre-owned homes may need to wait over three months to get loans from banks in Chongqing and Wuhan, the newspaper said. Banks under pressure to control mortgage lending will face mid-year regulatory reviews, and regulations attempting to prevent an overheated housing market will be tightly implemented, the newspaper said.