Beijing unveils more measures to boost property market

BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Beijing on Wednesday announced a slew of measures, including lowered minimum downpayment ratios and mortgage interest rates, in its latest move to boost its property market. These new measures will be in effect from Thursday.

The minimum downpayment ratio for individual commercial mortgages for homes has been lowered from 30 percent to 20 percent for first-home purchases, according to a circular released by several bodies, including the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Beijing municipal branch of the People's Bank of China.

For second-home purchases, the minimum downpayment has been lowered to 35 percent if the property is located within Beijing's fifth ring road, and 30 percent if located outside the road.

The lower limits for home loan interest rates have also been decreased, based on the tenor of the benchmark loan prime rate (LPR), according to the circular.

It said that to support the housing demand of families with more than one child, second homes purchased by families with a Beijing hukou (residence permit) and two or more children will be deemed first homes in terms of loan policy.

The Chinese capital is also encouraging real estate developers and agents to support home trade-ins, allowing residents to swap their current homes for new ones more easily, the circular said.

This is the second batch of measures that Beijing has announced in the last two months to optimize the city's housing policies.

On April 30, a notice permitted families with a Beijing hukou to buy one additional commercial house outside the fifth ring road, even if they already own two homes in Beijing. Single adults with a Beijing hukou, as well as single adults without a Beijing hukou but with a record of paying social insurance or income tax in the city for at least five consecutive years, were also permitted to purchase one additional property outside the fifth ring road, even if they already own one home in the city.

A number of other Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Hangzhou and Chengdu, have also adjusted their real estate policies recently, with measures including those to ease purchase restrictions and encourage trade-ins of commercial housing.