Property industry set to receive policy boosts this year

More policy easing will be required for the country's cooling property sector, members of the National Committee of the CPPCC said on Wednesday.[Special coverage]

The Chinese economy, which is facing a slowdown, needs to see deepened reforms, a boost in consumption and revitalization of the property market as well, Li Yining, a renowned economist and a CPPCC member, told a panel discussion on Wednesday.

The property sector remains an important growth engine for the economy, Li said, calling for further relaxations in home purchase controls.

There will be a further loosening of property restrictions this year, Zhang Li, co-chairman of Guangzhou R&F Properties and a CPPCC member, also told reporters on Wednesday.

Lower down payments would be allowed as part of the upcoming ­relaxation measures, UBS Securities economists said in a research note sent to the Global Times Wednesday.

The second interest rate cut in nearly three months was announced by the central bank on Saturday, considered by many as the latest measure to favor the country's wobbling housing market.

The previously overheated property market has experienced headwinds over the past year, adding to concerns over the resilience of the economy that missed the official growth target of 7.5 percent in 2014, the first time since 1998.

In a sign of continued downward pressure, a survey by the China Real Estate Index System revealed Saturday that average new home prices across 100 major cities in the country posted a drop of 0.24 percent in ­February from the month before, reversing a 0.21 percent increase in January.

On an annualized basis, average new home prices fell by 3.84 percent in February, steeper than the previous month's 3.09 percent fall.