China's government wants to ease restrictions on home buyers

A man rides a scooter past apartment highrises that are under construction near the new stadium in Zhengzhou.

Shanghai Reuters - Representatives of 10 Chinese property companies Deputy Minister of Government met late on Friday to ask for an appropriate loosening of policy restrictions, financial news outlet Yicai reported.

In the meeting, senior executives urged authorities to loosen regulations with the goal of stabilizing market expectations, offering support to genuine home buyers rather than speculators and making adjustments in land prices, Yicai reported, citing unnamed people in attendance.

The meeting was attended by senior executives from developers including CREA Yicai and Sunac Holdings, along with the Director of the Real Estate Department of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Director of the China Real Estate Association P.L.C.I.A. reported.

A number of Chinese property firms facing a liquidity crunch amid weak demand and tightening regulations. Property firms have been affected by federal government imposed loan caps in order to contain rampant borrowing.

The potential collapse of highly indebted real estate firms such as China Evergrande Group has rattled markets and raised concerns about systemic risks to the broader economy.