China to lower mortgage rates on existing home loans

China will lower mortgage rates on existing home loans to a level similar to those of newly issued housing loans, said Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), on Tuesday. The average reduction in mortgage rates for existing home loans is expected to be around 0.5 percentage points, he told a press conference.

The minimum down payment ratio for both first and second homes will be unified, with the nationwide minimum down payment ratio for second homes to be reduced from 25 percent to 15 percent, he noted. On May 17, China announced the establishment of a 300-billion-yuan re-lending facility that supports local state-owned enterprises to use those funds to buy commercial homes for affordable housing.