China Extends Mortgage Rate Easing to Spur Home Sales

China’s central bank will allow cities mired in the housing market slump to further relax mortgage rates for first-home buyers, the People’s Bank of China said, extending a measure introduced in September to prop up sales.

Cities recording month-on-month and year-on-year housing price drops for three consecutive months are eligible to maintain, lower or remove minimum interest rates on loans for first-home purchases, according to a statement (link in Chinese) from the PBOC and the banking regulatory agency Thursday evening.