HOUSING loans in Shanghai dropped in February as fewer transactions were sealed amid the government's tight measures to curb speculation in the market.
Mortgages fell by 1.98 billion yuan last month while January saw an increase of 2.08 billion yuan and February last year posted a rise of 3.33 billion yuan, the Shanghai branch of the People's Bank of China said yesterday.
New home sales in Shanghai in the first two months this year fell 8.4 percent from a year ago to 1.78 million square meters, the city's local statistics bureau said in a separate statement yesterday.
The fall in deals was due to tighter rules, including home buying curbs, that the city imposed.
But investment in building new homes surged 10.9 percent annually, the statement said