（ECNS) - The average mortgage rate for first-time home buyers in China fell by 0.53 percent year on year to 5.68 percent in December, the first such fall in 23 months, according to data from financial service platform Rong360.com.
Many cities in China, especially first-tier cities, have signaled flexibility over mortgage interest rates. Commercial banks in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have reportedly pledged to lower interest rates for first-time home buyers.
Beijing’s mortgage interest rate has not been adjusted recently, but the rate has dropped in comparison to the same period in 2017.
Wuhan City in Central China's Hubei Province had the highest mortgage rate for first-time home buyers, at 6.24 percent.
Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province, had the quickest growth among the 35 cities that Rong360 follows, at 14.01 percent year on year.
Li Weiyi, an analyst with Rong360, said current mortgage interest rates for first or second-home buyers in first-tier cities had shown signs of loosening and that more cities were expected to follow suit, but the pace would be slow.
