Chinese Cities Cut Mortgage Rates for First-Time Buyers After Rules Eased

Some Chinese cities have temporarily cut mortgage rates for first-time buyers to below 4% after the country’s central bank and banking regulator gave them the green light in September as part of broader efforts to ramp up support for the beleaguered property sector.

Some cities, including Wuhan, Tianjin and Guiyang, have so far eased interest rates to below the national floor of 4.1% jointly set by both financial watchdogs. Qingyuan in Guangdong province has one of the lowest rates at 3.7%, while several other cities in the region, including Zhanjiang and Jiangmen, have temporarily scrapped the floor on mortgage interest rates for first-time buyers altogether.