China May Reverse Property Crackdown, Macquarie Says

China is likely to reverse policies cracking down on the property market because they will put the nation’s 8 percent economic growth target for this year at risk, Macquarie Securities Ltd. said.

“Ironically, it is the very effectiveness of the property market measures that undermine their credibility,” Hong Kong- based economist Paul Cavey said in an e-mailed report today. “Current policies toward property can’t be sustained.”

Measures could be reversed in the fourth quarter, when the government has evidence that the market has cooled, Cavey said. Chinese officials intensified their campaign against property speculation after record price gains in March, helping to drive a decline of 10 percent in the Shanghai Composite Index in the past month. (more)