"The most lenient down payment and credit support in history" are coming. Are you excited to buy a house?
"The down payment has been reduced and the interest rate has been reduced. You can consider 'getting on the car' sir."
On the afternoon of May 17, Zhang Yan from Hangzhou received multiple WeChat messages from real estate agents. After checking, he found that based on current policies, the cost of buying a house has dropped a lot.
On that day, multiple departments jointly took action to rescue the property market, and various major policies were launched one after another, making it the day with the most intensive and powerful real estate policies in recent years. Like the boom in real estate stocks, many home buyers are also eager to enter the market.
On May 17, the central bank issued the "Notice of the People's Bank of China on Adjusting the Interest Rate Policy for Commercial Personal Housing Loans", canceling the lower limit of the interest rate policy for commercial personal housing loans for first and second homes at the national level. The central bank informed that it has decided to lower the personal housing provident fund loan interest rate by 0.25 percentage points starting from May 18, 2024.
At the same time, for households that purchase commercial housing with loans, the minimum down payment ratio for commercial personal housing loans for their first home is adjusted to no less than 15%, and the minimum down payment ratio for commercial personal housing loans for their second home is adjusted to no less than 25%. .
Picture: After the central bank issued three "big red envelopes" including down payment reduction, cancellation of interest rate lower limit, and provident fund loan interest rate reduction, many places accelerated their follow-up and implementation. On May 17, the housing provident fund centers of many provinces and cities, including Henan, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Hefei, actively responded to the central bank's policy and issued a notice stating that the provident fund loan interest rate will be reduced starting from the 18th, and the existing loans will be adjusted on January 1, 2025.
Chao News reporters noticed that as commercial banks continue to cut interest rates on loans, the mortgage interest rate in many places has reached the level of 3.45%, which is relatively close to the provident fund loan interest rate.
This time the personal housing provident fund loan interest rate was reduced by 0.25 percentage points, which means that the monthly payment of home buyers will be directly reduced. It is understood that the last provident fund interest rate adjustment was on October 1, 2022. The provident fund loan interest rates for first-time personal housing under 5 years and over 5 years were 2.6% and 3.1% respectively. After the reduction, based on the total provident fund loan of 1 million yuan, the total monthly payment of 30 years of equal principal and interest for a first-home provident fund loan over 5 years before the adjustment was 4,270 yuan, and the adjusted monthly payment was 4,136 yuan, a decrease of 134 yuan.
"This type of home purchase policy is a rare easing in the history of the property market, or the most lenient in the 40-year history of real estate development. Its level exceeds all previous relaxation policies. It is a historic home purchase boosting policy with far-reaching impact." Yan Yuejin, research director of Yiju Research Institute, told Chao News reporters.
On the same day, at the regular briefing on State Council policies held by the State Council Information Office, the People's Bank of China stated that it would set up 300 billion yuan in affordable housing re-loans to encourage and guide financial institutions to support local state-owned enterprises in a reasonable manner in accordance with the principles of marketization and rule of law. Price acquisition of completed and unsold commercial buildings will be used as affordable housing for sale or rent, which is expected to drive bank loans of 500 billion yuan.
"This round of policy adjustments is relatively strong, but it has not changed the consistent policy orientation." Wen Bin, chief economist of China Minsheng Bank, told Chao News reporters that although the restrictions on mortgage interest rates have been basically relaxed, the down payment ratio for first and second homes is still There is a certain degree of differentiation, and the first-time house is obviously lower. In addition, in accordance with the principle of city-specific policy implementation, it is expected that some hot cities will retain the lower limit of mortgage interest rates for the time being. These will help balance the current stability and long-term development of the real estate market and avoid returning to the old path of "relying on real estate to drive the economy."
After seeing the latest policy, Zhang Yan said: "I am really excited and I am going to check out the house in the near future."
Not long after Zhang Yan came to Hangzhou, after Hangzhou relaxed its purchase restrictions, not only were there no restrictions on the qualifications for buying a house, but a large part of the costs in terms of down payment and interest could also be saved.
“I used to have a limited budget and was worried about not having enough down payment, but now I don’t have to worry about the down payment at all. And for second-hand houses, the price has dropped compared to before, and there are more choices. Now I am just worried that the owner will temporarily increase the price, and I am a little anxious to look at the house. "Zhang Yan told reporters.
Mr. Zheng, a real estate agent in Hangzhou, told reporters that after the policy was introduced yesterday, many people immediately came to inquire about the implementation of the policy. Today is a weekend, and some customers came directly to the sales office to understand the situation of the real estate. Mr. Zheng said that as of now, the latest down payment policy in Hangzhou has not changed and is expected to be introduced soon. Some properties have already begun to collect intention deposits based on 15% of the down payment.
Mr. Li, a real estate agent in Shanghai, told reporters that house prices are currently at a visible trough, and there is less room to go down, especially in core areas. There is a high probability that they will go sideways and go up. Now is indeed the time to buy.
But not everyone is so excited about the housing market. Liu Jun from Hangzhou is relatively calm.
"I think the overall property market is currently in a downward trend, and various rescue policies have not yet shown obvious signs of taking effect. I am still willing to wait and see. If it is just needed, now is indeed a relatively good period compared to before." Liu Jun said that his demand is to change to an improved house, and it is difficult to sell second-hand houses for the time being, "so I'd better wait a little longer."
Li Yujia, chief researcher of the Housing Policy Research Center of the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Urban Planning, believes that both the mortgage interest rate and the down payment ratio have dropped to historical lows. "For those who are just in need, it should be a good time to buy a house, because there are more available houses on the market now and the prices are relatively low."
Li Yujia believes that the purpose of a series of policies is to make new citizens and young people the main force in housing consumption. The threshold for buying a house can be found, and the pressure on mortgages has also been reduced. "With the combination of down payment reduction and interest rate reduction, coupled with the decline in housing prices and possible subsequent tax reductions, the monthly payment burden will be significantly reduced, and the mortgage loan will enter the payable stage, that is, The monthly payment will not significantly affect residents’ other consumption.”
