China’s Mortgage Rates Dip as Central Bank Acts to Bolster Property Market

China’s home mortgage rates dropped in May as the central bank scrapped the national minimum mortgage rate requirements for households buying their first or second homes, industry data showed.

The mainstream mortgage rates — the rates at which most transactions take place during a given period — on first homes averaged 3.45% in May in the 100 cities monitored by the Beike Research Institute (BRI), down 12 basis points from the previous month, the real estate think tank said in an article Tuesday. For second homes, the average rate fell 26 basis points to 3.9%.