Zhengzhou Leads Big Cities in Rolling Out Housing Stimulus

Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan province, unveiled a series of measures including easing curbs on home resales and reducing down payments to prop up the ailing property market.

The city of 12.8 million is the first big city to take the move with detailed plans to stimulate home sales, heeding calls from the central government.

China’s real estate sector, which drives around 14% of the country’s GDP, has continued to weaken for more than two years, stifling the recovery of the world’s second-largest economy. Although many smaller cities have implemented all possible easing policies since last year, they can hardly move the dial in the national housing market downturn as big cities including the provincial capitals haven’t acted, analysts said.