Chinese regulators Friday unveiled a broad package of measures to ease property financing, as the housing downturn continues to weigh on economic growth.
Under these new rules, Chinese homeowners will be able to refinance their high-rate existing mortgages by negotiating directly with banks or securing new lower-rate loans to replace them.
The lack of a formal refinancing system led many homeowners to use short-term consumer loans and other credit lines to prepay their mortgages, following the central bank's benchmark rate cuts aimed at reviving economic growth and the sluggish property market.
New homebuyers will also be allowed to secure mortgages of up to 40 years--up from the previous 30-year cap--under new rules released by China's central bank and other financial regulators.
Commercial banks are also being encouraged to offer operating commercial property mortgages with terms of up to 15 years to help revive slumping sales.
