Morning Briefing: China slackens mortgage lending rules

China announced it has eased its mortgage lending rules... $160m residential tower for Macquarie Park ...

China slackens mortgage lending rules
Last night, China announced it has eased its mortgage lending rules to boost its flagging economy and lift the weakening rate of property investment across the country, according to an article in The Australian. 

The People’s Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission revealed that mortgage down payment requirements would be shifted lower, with rates at 25% but local governments would be able to shift them down to 20%. 

Economists say the move is an effective policy easing tool by regulators to raise economic growth which has hit its lowest point in 25 years.

The bank’s chief China economist Liu Li-gang said, “The policy easing will likely help sustain the warm-up in property transactions and prices since mid-2015.

"However, a nationwide property market recovery will still be a long and strenuous process, dragged by the large inventory overhangs in lower-tier cities,” he said.

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$160m residential tower for Macquarie Park 
Property developer and hotelier Toga is set to add a $160 million residential tower 'One Twenty Macquarie' to the Macquarie Park precinct in Sydney's north west, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. 

The build is part of the expansion of its housing division and will join the 618-apartment development Macquarie Central and 164-apartment development Macquarie Green, the former which is already sold out and the latte at 90% sold. 

As the second largest business district in NSW, Macquarie Park holds the state's largest suburban shopping centre and is projected to be Australia's fourth largest CBD by 2030, attracting 45,000 new jobs and 25,000 new students. 

Toga development and construction chief executive Fabrizio Perilli​ said the construction of One Twenty Macquarie is set for mid-2016.

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