Chinese financial regulators announced a comprehensive package of measures on Friday to support the real estate market.
New rules permit homeowners to refinance existing high-rate mortgages through bank negotiations or new lower-rate loans. The maximum term for new homebuyer mortgages will increase from 30 to 40 years.
Regulators eased capital-market financing for developers, allowing the use of shares and convertible bonds to acquire property assets. Developers will also gain easier access to longer-term bank loans.
This policy shift aims to counteract a severe housing downturn currently dragging on national economic growth. The intervention follows a period of strict borrowing limits previously imposed on developers to manage debt.