On May 15, the central bank and China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued the "Notice on Adjusting Differentiated Housing Credit Policies" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), clarifying that for households who purchase ordinary self-occupied houses with loans, the first house commercial The lower limit of the interest rate of commercial personal housing loans is adjusted to not be lower than the market quotation rate of the corresponding period loan minus 20 basis points, and the lower limit of the interest rate policy of commercial personal housing loans for second houses shall be implemented in accordance with the current regulations. This means that the first home loan interest rate can be as low as 4.4%.
The "Notice" stated that in order to adhere to the positioning that houses are used for living in, not for speculation, fully implement the long-term real estate mechanism, support localities to improve real estate policies based on local realities, support rigid and improved housing needs, and promote the real estate market. Steady and healthy development. The items in the "Notice" include:
2. On the basis of the unified lower limit of loan interest rates across the country, the People's Bank of China and the branches of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission will follow the principle of " applying policies according to the city " to guide the self-discipline mechanism for pricing market interest rates at the provincial level, According to the changes in the real estate market situation of each city within the jurisdiction and the regulation and control requirements of the city government, the lower limit of the interest rate plus points for commercial personal housing loans for first- and second-set housing in each city within the jurisdiction is independently determined.
The first house loan is 500,000 yuan or 20,000 yuan interest can be repaid in the next 30 years
The current mortgage interest rate is based on the interest rate of LPR with a term of more than 5 years. After adding points, the final personal mortgage interest rate is formed. According to the latest 5-year LPR of 4.6%, this means that after the lower limit of personal housing loan interest rates is lowered, the interest rate of first-home loans in various places can be as low as 4.4%.
Then, when a resident family applies for a loan to purchase the first ordinary self-occupied house, what will happen to the interest payment? Gao Ruidong, Chief Economist of Everbright Securities , said that if the lower limit of the city’s policy and the bank’s specific implementation interest rate are lowered in line with the national policy, the interest expenses will be reduced when residents apply for loans to buy their first ordinary self-occupied houses. Based on a loan amount of 500,000 yuan, a term of 30 years, and equal principal and interest repayment estimates, the interest rate will be reduced by 20 basis points, and the average monthly payment will be reduced by about 60 yuan. In the next 30 years, the total interest payment will be reduced by about 20,000 yuan.
It is worth reminding that the central bank's notice this time is mainly for the newly issued commercial personal housing loans, and the interest rates of existing commercial personal housing loans will still be implemented according to the original contract.
Adhere to the word "stable" as the leading factor
Active industry experts who drive real estate transactions said that while the "Notice" stimulates demand, it still adheres to the principle of "housing is not for speculation". It is expected that the real estate market will maintain stable and healthy development in the future.
"For the first time, the notice issued a special document on the differentiated housing credit policy, which fully reflects the determination to continue to make efforts on the current housing loan and reverse the recent real estate transaction market." Yan Yuejin, Research Director of the Think Tank Center of E-House Research Institute, said.
He believes that the reduction of the interest rate of the first set of ordinary self-occupied housing loans by the financial sector fully reflects the financial sector’s orientation towards the reduction of the current housing loan cost, which will have important impacts in many aspects: First, it will help guide local governments and banking institutions to further adjust loans Policies, especially in terms of housing loan interest rates, can be lowered or lowered, fully implementing preferential policies for low-cost housing purchases; second, it will help guide housing companies to actively promote and sell, especially in light of the recent housing loan interest rate costs The lower advantage encourages real estate companies to actively sell and fully promotes the active real estate transaction market; third, it helps to further reduce the cost of home buyers. At the same time, combined with the recent continuous relaxation of local policies, it can objectively further promote the pressure of home buyers. The reduction of down payment, the reduction of mortgage interest rates, the loosening of restrictions on the sale of second-hand housing, and the loosening of restrictions on purchases will create better conditions for active market transactions in the middle and late May and subsequent periods; In order to carry out real estate loan work according to the current situation, some cities with weak market transactions will actively carry out more relaxed housing loan policies based on differentiated credit policy tools.
"The "Notice" has widened the interest rate gap between the first home and the second home loan . While stimulating the release of the demand for the first home, it is also conducive to avoiding increased speculative demand for investment." The head of the policy group of the Zhongtai Securities Research Institute, Chief analyst Yang Chang said.
Director of Guangdong Provincial Housing Policy Research CenterXi researcher Li Yujia also believes that the lower limit of the second-home mortgage interest rate has not been adjusted, mainly to prevent too much and too fast flow of funds into the real estate field, demonstrating the fundamental principle of "housing is not for speculation".
Liu Yuanju, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Finance and Law, believes that the policy has played a role in promoting the real estate market. The next step may require shifting focus to production to avoid the possibility of stagflation .
Looking forward to the future, Zhou Maohua, a macro researcher at the Financial Market Department of China Everbright Bank, said that it is expected that the housing loan interest rates in some areas with relatively large supply and relatively cold demand in the property market will be reduced to a certain extent, so as to reduce the cost of just-needed housing purchases. On the whole, the domestic real estate market will still adhere to the word "stability". At the same time, it will promote "policies according to the city", precise regulation, and implement the "three stability" tasks to promote the stable and healthy development of the real estate market.
Data: Mortgage interest rates were lowered in more than 100 cities across the country in the first quarter
Zou Lan, director of the Financial Market Department of the People's Bank of China, said at a press conference on financial statistics for the first quarter of 2022 on April 14 that since March, due to weakening market demand, Banks in more than 100 cities across the country have voluntarily lowered mortgage interest rates based on market changes and their own operating conditions, with an average range ranging from 20 to 60 basis points.
According to Beijing Youth Daily report, statistics show that the actual implementation of personal mortgage interest rates in most areas is still significantly higher than the national unified lower limit. According to the first quarter monetary policy implementation report released by the central bank, at the end of March, the weighted average interest rate of personal housing loans was 5.49%, which was 14 basis points lower than that at the end of last year.
In April, the mainstream first-home loan interest rate in 103 key cities monitored by the Shell Research Institute was 5.17%, and the second-home loan interest rate was 5.45%, which were 17 and 15 basis points lower than the previous month, respectively, a new monthly low since 2019.
According to reports, the first set of interest rates of most banks in Guangzhou is currently 5.2%-4.8%, the second set of interest rates is between 5.2% and 5.4%, and the lowest for some foreign banks is 4.6%; the mainstream first set of interest rates in Nanjing is between 5% and 5.2%. During the period, some banks were as low as 4.8%-4.9%; the mortgage rate for the first house in Shenzhen was generally 4.9%, and that for the second house was 5.2%; Suzhou most banks had the first house loan rate at 4.6%.
The determination of individual housing loan interest rates and down payment ratios follows the principle of city-specific policy
On the basis of the unified lower limit of loan interest rates across the country, at the local level, the People’s Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission’s dispatched agencies guide the provincial governments in accordance with the principle of “city-specific policies”. The market interest rate pricing self-discipline mechanism, according to the changes in the real estate market situation of each city in the jurisdiction and the regulation requirements of the city government, independently determines the direction of the adjustment of the lower limit of the first and second housing commercial personal housing loan interest rates in each city in the jurisdiction.
Part of the self-regulatory mechanism of provincial market interest rate pricing also cooperates with the regulation and control requirements of local governments. According to the actual situation of the city, the lower limit of the down payment ratio and the lower limit of the interest rate are lowered within the scope of the national policy. "This is a differentiated and market-oriented adjustment made by the city government and banks according to the market situation and their own business strategies, adapting to the characteristics of regional differences in the real estate market." Zou Lan said.
Zou Lan explained the relevant mechanism at the press conference on financial statistics in the first quarter of 2022. He said that the regional characteristics of my country's real estate market are obvious, and the determination of individual housing loan interest rates and down payment ratios follows the principle of city-specific policies, adopting a three-tier pricing mechanism of the country, cities, and banks.
Take the lower limit of interest rates as an example. At that time, the interest rate of first-home loans at the national level must not be lower than the LPR of the corresponding period, and the interest rate of second-home loans must not be lower than the corresponding period of LPR plus 60 basis points. This is the lower limit policy that the whole country must abide by; The provincial branches of the bank guide the provincial market interest rate pricing self-discipline mechanism in accordance with the principle of city-specific policies, and determine the lower limit of loan interest rates for each city within its jurisdiction on the basis of the lower limit of the national policy. This is the lower limit that must be complied with within the city.
Zou Lan said that in practice, most cities directly adopt the national lower limit, without additional requirements; banks combine their own operating conditions, customer risk conditions and credit conditions, etc., to clarify the pricing rules of interest rates, and set the lower limit of interest rate policies in each city. In fact, it is a completely market-oriented business decision to reasonably determine the specific value of each loan.
Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter Li Xinzhi comprehensive report
Source: Xiaoxiang Morning News