"I bought a house last year, and now the CPF interest rate has been lowered, can I enjoy it?" On May 17, the central bank hit the "0.25 percentage point reduction of the personal housing provident fund loan interest rate" three times in a row, hitting the hearts of most "house slaves". People are generally concerned about whether the existing housing loans can enjoy the preferential reduction of the provident fund interest rate.
On May 17, the central bank decided to reduce the interest rate of personal housing provident fund loans by 0.25 percentage points from May 18, 2024, and the interest rates on 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 for 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 no less than 2.775% and 3.325% respectively.
The interest rate of provident fund loans in many places has been reduced
Following the central bank's announcement of the three "big red envelopes" such as reducing the down payment, canceling the lower limit of the interest rate, and reducing the interest rate of provident fund loans, many places have accelerated the follow-up implementation. On May 17, a number of provincial and municipal housing provident fund centers actively responded to the central bank's policy.
On May 17, the official account of "Henan Provincial Housing Provident Fund" issued the "Notice on Reducing the Interest Rate of Personal Housing Provident Fund Loans".
Jiangxi, Hefei, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Dongguan and other places also issued notices stating that the interest rate of provident fund loans will be lowered from the 18th, and the existing loans will be adjusted on January 1, 2025.
Can the stock benefit? Details vary from place to place!
The 21st Century Business Herald reporter noticed that the adjustment of the interest rate of the stock provident fund will be carried out on January 1, 2025, but the details are slightly different in different places.
Some cities also have additional deadlines for stock adjustments. For example, Chengdu and Dalian require that the interest rate of housing provident fund loans issued before May 18, 2024, with a loan term of more than one year, will be adjusted on January 1, 2025; If the loan term is 1 year, the loan interest rate will not be adjusted.
In most cities, the interest rates on newly accepted loans and loans not disbursed before May 18, 2024 will be uniformly implemented in accordance with the requirements of the central bank. The existing loans will be adjusted from January 1, 2025. For example, Jinan City, Lanzhou City, Yichang City, etc.
It is worth noting that the specific implementation of the housing provident fund in Yichang City, Hubei Province is divided into three situations, but it is consistent with the adjustment policy of Jinan City and Lanzhou City.
1. For personal housing provident fund loans that have been issued before May 18, 2024, the original personal housing provident fund loan interest rate standard will still be implemented, and the adjusted personal housing provident fund loan interest rate standard will be implemented from January 1, 2025. (Reporter's note: stock provident fund loans)
2. For personal housing provident fund loans that have been accepted before May 18, 2024 and have not been disbursed, the adjusted interest rate standard for personal housing provident fund loans will be implemented. (Reporter's note: new provident fund loans)
3. For personal housing provident fund loans accepted after May 18, 2024 (inclusive), the adjusted interest rate standard for personal housing provident fund loans will be implemented. (Reporter's note: new provident fund loans)
CPF loan interest rates are at their lowest level in history! How much can I save?
Provident fund loan interest rates have reached their lowest levels in history. According to 21 Data News Lab, the last provident fund interest rate adjustment was on October 1, 2022, and the interest rates on the first set of personal housing provident fund loans for less than 5 years (including 5 years) and more than 5 years were 2.6% and 3.1% respectively.
After the interest rate is cut by 0.25 percentage points, how much can buyers save on their monthly payments? Based on the total amount of provident fund loans of 1 million yuan, the total monthly payment of equal principal and interest for the first housing provident fund loan for more than 5 years before the adjustment is 4,270 yuan, and the monthly payment after adjustment is 4,136 yuan, a decrease of 134 yuan.
Source/21 Data Journalism Lab
Song Hongwei, research director of Tongce Research Institute, believes that the provident fund policy is supported by the policy of reducing the down payment threshold, which should help the growth of housing sales in core cities.
Chen Wenjing, director of market research at the China Index Research Institute, said that after the adjustment, the interest rates on the first and second sets of provident fund loans for more than 5 years will be reduced from 3.1% and 3.575% to 2.85% and 3.325%, further reducing the cost of home buyers.
Buyers: Plan to use up the first home slot
Intermediaries focus on single clients
According to an interview with the 21st Century Business Herald reporter, an intermediary told the reporter that first-time home buyers pay more attention to the reduction of provident fund interest rates, because such customers generally use combination loans or only provident fund loans.
On May 17, Song Yun (pseudonym) said after seeing the new policy of the central bank to reduce the provident fund interest rate, "It is a little less than the previous rumor." In the past six months, she has been looking at second-hand houses in Suzhou, and is planning to use up the first house in her life. Due to the high loan amount of Suzhou Provident Fund, Song Yun plans to apply for a maximum amount of 800,000 yuan, combined with commercial loans, to buy a house of about 2 million, so that the monthly payment pressure is more appropriate.
For single people like Song Yun, the adjustment of the provident fund interest rate is relatively good news, and the intermediary also pays more attention to this kind of customer. At the same time, second-hand home owners also want to take advantage of this wave of popularity to sell their properties as soon as possible.
Zhao Min (pseudonym), who bought a second-hand house in Shanghai in 2016, believes that he is the most loss-making buyer, and the interest rate of the commercial loan was 5.9% after the approval of the commercial loan that year, and after the LPR adjustment, the current interest rate is 4.79%, which is also much higher than the current interest rate of the commercial loan for home purchase.
Analysts pointed out that if the interest rate on existing loans cannot be lowered, the willingness of early buyers to repay the loan in advance will be very strong.
[Source: 21st Century Business Herald]