What do China’s new housing presale rules mean for real estate developers?

With China rolling out a stronger-than-expected package of measures to transition the housing market away from a presales model, analysts said the shift is a double-edged sword for real estate developers: tighter regulations are poised to squeeze cash inflows, even as the reforms aim to stimulate sales and stabilise prices over time. Under new rules released by the People’s Bank of China, presales would remain in effect but down payments and mortgage funds would be disbursed to developers only...