China megacities ease homebuying rules to boost property market [Video]

Three Chinese megacities on Monday eased restrictions on buying homes and Beijing’s central bank said it would ask financial institutions to lower mortgage rates, as the country seeks to pull itself out of a housing slump.

The measures are the latest in a raft of pledges out of Beijing since last week aimed at kickstarting the world’s number two economy.

The teetering property sector has long accounted for around a quarter of gross domestic product and experienced dazzling growth for two decades.

But a years-long housing slump has become a major impediment to growth as the country’s leadership eyes a target of around five percent this year — an objective analysts say is optimistic given the many headwinds the economy faces.

Late on Sunday, three of the country’s biggest cities said they would make it easier for people to buy homes in measures that would come into effect on September …