Real estate loans make up 30% of 2013 increase

Real estate lending in China rose by 2.34 trillion yuan ($387 billion) in 2013, accounting for almost 30 percent of the total increase in loans during the same period, said a report published by the People's Bank of China on Friday.

Analysts said real estate loans have been rising due to expectations of a real estate rebound and the steady progress of government-subsidized housing construction.

At the end of December, yuan-denominated real estate loans by major financial institutions, small rural financial institutions and foreign banks amounted to 14.61 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.1 percent year-on-year. Among the total lending, government-subsidized housing loans reached 726 billion yuan, up 26.7 percent from the previous year, and individual housing loans hit 9.8 trillion yuan, increasing 21 percent year-on-year.

The increase in individual housing loans hit a record high in 2013 as first-time homebuyers accounted for a large proportion of housing transactions, said Zhang Dawei, chief analyst at the Beijing office of property agent Centaline Property.

He said credit easing is the most crucial factor for the hike of real estate transactions during the last two years. Although the credit easing policy is tightening gradually, it has not yet affected heated housing transactions. The amount and cost of loans will remain a major influence on the real estate market this year, Zhang said.