China raises downpayment, mortgage rates for home buyers

China took fresh measures Thursday to curb overly rapid rises in property prices, raising minimum downpayment levels and mortgage rates for certain home buyers. The new rules, announced by the State Council, China’s cabinet, come after urban property prices surged by nearly five-year highs last month. They show while Beijing is more confident in the strength of the country’s economic recovery, it is concerned about the economic and political risks associated with increasingly unaffordable housing prices, analysts say.