The down payment ratio for the first home has been lowered to 15%, the interest rate on provident fund loans has been reduced, and the government has purchased some commercial housing for affordable housing...... On May 17, a series of blockbuster real estate policies were intensively introduced, which attracted huge attention.
At 4 p.m., the Information Office of the State Council held a regular briefing on the policies of the State Council, at which responsible persons of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the People's Bank of China, and the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration briefed on the relevant situation of supporting policies for ensuring the delivery of housing and answered reporters' questions.
A number of experts interviewed by the reporter said that this round of policies is very heavy, which can be called the "most relaxed" real estate policy in history, indicating the central government's firm determination to stabilize the real estate market. With the coordinated efforts of macro policies and the continuous follow-up of policies at both ends of real estate supply and demand, market sentiment is expected to improve marginally in the future (referring to the trend of gradual improvement in the operating conditions or economic conditions of companies or economies over a period of time), especially in core cities, driven by policies, market activity may gradually recover.
15%, the "lowest in history" down payment ratio
On May 17, the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Financial Supervision jointly announced that for resident families who take out loans to purchase commercial housing, the minimum down payment ratio of commercial personal housing loans for the first house will be adjusted to not less than 15%, and the minimum down payment ratio of commercial personal housing loans for second houses will be adjusted to not less than 25%.
On this basis, the provincial-level branches of the People's Bank of China and the dispatched agencies of the State Financial Supervision and Administration independently determine the lower limit of the minimum down payment ratio for commercial personal housing loans for the first and second houses in each city under their jurisdiction in accordance with the requirements of urban regulation and control and in accordance with the principle of city-specific policies.
"This is the lowest down payment ratio in history, and it is also the most lenient policy of all types of home buying policies in recent years." Yan Yuejin, research director of the E-House Research Institute, introduced that compared with the relaxation of purchase restrictions and the lack of mortgage in the past, the reduction of the down payment ratio is far higher than that of other policies, indicating that the national level attaches great importance to destocking and supporting reasonable housing consumption demand, and is of great significance for the rapid release and large-scale release of rigid demand and improved housing demand.
The interest rate on housing provident fund loans was lowered by 0.25 percentage points
At the same time as the down payment ratio was lowered, the mortgage interest rate also ushered in a favorable policy.
The central bank announced that from May 18, 2024, the interest rate of personal housing provident fund loans will be lowered by 0.25 percentage points, the interest rate of the first set of personal housing provident fund loans for less than 5 years (including 5 years) and more than 5 years will be adjusted to 2.35% and 2.85% respectively, and the interest rate of the second set of personal housing provident fund loans for less than 5 years (including 5 years) and more than 5 years will be adjusted to not less than 2.775% and 3.325% respectively.
Yan Yuejin introduced that the reduction of the interest rate on provident fund loans has been discussed in the industry before. In the case of the continuous reduction of interest rates on commercial bank loans, the interest rate of commercial loans in many places has reached the level of 3.45%, which is not much different from the interest rate difference of provident fund loans, so it is inevitable that the interest rate of provident fund will be reduced.
The lower limit of the interest rate policy for housing commercial loans at the national level will be abolished
In addition to the interest rate on the provident fund, the central bank also announced that it would cancel the lower limit of the interest rate policy for commercial personal housing loans for the first and second homes at the national level.
Zhang Dawei, chief analyst of Centaline Real Estate, said that the current LPR of more than 5 years is 3.95%, and according to the previous minimum reduction of 20 basis points, the interest rate of the first home loan can reach 3.75%. The policy will cancel the lower limit of the commercial loan interest rate, and there is more room for interest rate reduction.
Zhang Dawei introduced that except for a few first-tier and second-tier cities, the minimum first set of interest rates for housing loans in most cities has entered the "3.45 era". "Simple calculation, it is equivalent to a reduction from 1 million yuan to 4,462 yuan before the monthly payment for 30 years, a decrease of 167 yuan per month, and a total of 60,686 yuan in 30 years of interest reduction."
In his view, guiding the actual down payment ratio and interest rate of personal housing loans to decline will help reduce the burden and cost of down payment of residents, enhance the ability and willingness to buy houses, and will directly reduce the borrower's residential mortgage expenditure and boost residents' willingness to consume.
The interest rate of Xi'an provident fund loan will be lowered from today to clarify the implementation time of the new interest rate standard
On May 17, the Xi'an Housing Provident Fund Management Center issued a notice on reducing the interest rate of personal housing provident fund loans.
According to the requirements of the Notice on Reducing the Interest Rate of Personal Housing Provident Fund Loans People's Bank of China May 17, 2024, from May 18, 2024, the interest rate of personal housing provident fund loans will be reduced by 0.25 percentage points, and the interest rates of the first set of personal housing provident fund loans for less than 5 years (including 5 years) and more than 5 years will be adjusted to 2.35% and 2.85% respectively, and the interest rates of the second set of personal housing provident fund loans for less than 5 years (including 5 years) and more than 5 years will be adjusted to 2.775% and 3.325% respectively.
For personal housing provident fund loans that have been issued before May 18, 2024, with a loan term of more than one year, the new interest rate standard will be implemented from January 1, 2025. For personal housing provident fund loans that have been accepted but not disbursed before May 18, 2024, the new interest rate standard will be implemented when disbursed.
With the interest rate of provident fund loans, the topic of when to restart the "business to business" has once again aroused the attention and discussion of Xi'an citizens.
Due to the long-term high personal loan rate of the housing provident fund, Xi'an's "business-to-business" business came to an abrupt halt after only a few months of trial implementation in 2017 and has not been restarted so far.
The other party said that the current Xi'an housing provident fund personal loan rate continues to be too high, and as an important indicator to measure whether the "business to business" can be restarted, the personal loan rate needs to be reduced to below 85% before the restart can be considered. The personal loan rate is regulated by the market and cannot be intervened through policy.
On May 11, the Xi'an Housing Provident Fund Management Center also replied to netizens through the People's Daily Online leadership message board, which mentioned that in recent years, in order to promote the stable and healthy development of the real estate market in Xi'an, the Xi'an Housing Provident Fund Management Center has supported families in need and improved housing to use the housing provident fund policy to improve housing conditions, and constantly adjusted and optimized the provident fund personal loan policy, and the personal loan rate has continued to rise, and the personal loan rate has risen to 95.42% at the end of April this year. According to the data, at present, the balance of commercial loans for individual housing in Xi'an is huge, and there is a large gap in the funds required to restart the "business-to-business" loans, and the center does not have the conditions to carry out the "business-to-business" for the time being.
On the same day, the Xianyang Housing Provident Fund Management Center also issued an announcement on lowering the interest rate of personal housing provident fund loans in accordance with the policy of the central bank. Huashang Daily Gale News reporter Bai Zhongxia
Source: Huashang Net-Huashang Daily