Chinese cities' last-ditch property easing exposes limited toolkit

HONG KONG -- Chinese cities have dropped some of the last barriers to home purchases in an effort to spur demand. But rather than raising hopes for a recovery, experts say the moves show how little space the authorities now have to work with.

Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang and home to the headquarters of Alibaba Group, and Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi, last Thursday said they were removing home purchase restrictions, including buyer vetting. The rules were imposed by Beijing in 2010 to curb speculation.