Hong Kong Tightens Mortgages Amid QE3 Concerns of Bubble
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Hong Kong’s central bank tightened mortgage lending after saying a third round of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve risks pushing up home prices that have already surpassed their 1997 peak.
The central bank is limiting the maximum term on all new mortgages to 30 years, Norman Chan, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, told reporters yesterday. Mortgage payments for investment properties can’t be more than 40 percent of buyers’ monthly incomes, from the current 50 percent, he said.