China Slashes Mortgage Rate to Prop Up Housing Market

• China cuts key 5-year mortgage rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.95%, the largest reduction since the rate's introduction in 2019 • Move aims to stabilize struggling property market and broader economy facing deflationary pressures • Additional measures rolled out to ease financing strains on embattled real estate developers • But lack of confidence in some developers' ability to deliver presold homes still a roadblock • Cut expected to aid housing demand with lower rates and prices, but new construction may continue to struggle