Retail sales recorded high growth of more than 17 percent year on year in October for the ninth consecutive month, and car sales have also been strong. Meanwhile, with the rate of increase in the CPI accelerating for the fourth consecutive month to 4.4 percent in October, the People’s Bank of China has raised the policy interest rate and the reserve requirement ratio.
That said, the market remains a good deal more competitive than it was in the mid 1990s and borrowers have access to a much larger range of products. Moreover, the overall availability of finance to purchase housing in particular seems to be adequate.