China cuts down payments, mortgage rates

(ECNS) -- China's top financial regulators announced Thursday to lower down payments for both first- and second-time homebuyers, aiming to promote healthy and steady development of the real estate market. 

The minimum down payment will be uniformly set at 20 percent for first-time buyers and 30 percent for second-time purchasers, according to a joint statement from the People's Bank of China and National Administration of Financial Regulation on Thursday.

The minimum interest rate for the majority of existing outstanding mortgages is an approximate interest rate of 4.65 percent while homebuyers paid for around 6 percent on average, which means, with a 30-year, 1 million yuan loan, the monthly payment could drop from about 5,995 yuan to 5,156 yuan—a decrease of around 840 yuan per month, said Zhang Dawei, chief analyst at Centaline Property Agency.

The Agricultural Bank of China and the Construction Bank of China also issued an announcement on Thursday evening that they would promote the orderly reduction of the interest rate of commercial individual housing loans in accordance with the law.