China lowers downpayment ratio for commercial property to 30%

[BEIJING] The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has lowered the minimum downpayment ratio for commercial property purchases to 30 per cent, the central bank said in a statement on Saturday (Jan 17).

The central bank said the move – which also applies to mixed-use commercial-residential units – aims to support “the new real-estate development model and adapt to changing supply-demand dynamics.” Before the reduction, minimum downpayment ratios for such transactions were around 50 per cent.

Lowering the downpayment ratio is part of efforts to help reduce excess inventory in the commercial real-estate market, where prolonged weakness has weighed on economic activity.

Provincial branches of the PBOC and the National Financial Regulatory Administration may independently set city-level minimum downpayment floors based on local government regulatory needs, it added. BLOOMBERG