More Chinese Cities Likely To See Lower Mortgage Rates

China’s mortgage interest rates are likely to be further lowered nationwide after the central bank cut the long-term lending reference rate, the five-year Loan Prime Rate by 15 bps to 4.45% on Friday, Beijing Business Today reported citing analysts. The minimum mortgage rate for first-time homebuyers could drop to as low as 4.25% as the central bank earlier lowered the floor of the rate to 20 bps below the five-year LPR, the newspaper said. Currently, newly issued housing mortgages in Tianjin and Zhengzhou have followed the minimum 4.25%, while many banks in Beijing have lowered the first-time mortgage rate moderately to 5% from the previous 5.15%, the newspaper said.