The new policy also tightens lending to developers who are suspected of building property land banks with the purpose of artificially boosting widespread sales.
The new measures are the latest in a string of government attempts to rein in rocketing property investment. The government is increasingly concerned that commercial banks might become the scapegoats if a real estate bubble were to burst. For personal housing mortgage loans, the new policy suggests that banks will decide how much a borrower will have to put down based on their credit worthiness, instead of using a unified standard.
The CBRC also said it will crack down on fraudulent mortgage loans, which have been employed by some developers to shift huge risks to banks. Earlier, CBRC chairman Liu Mingkang said the regulatory body will launch a review of mortgage loans and lending to land-reserve projects.
Official statistics show that property investment totaled yuan 941.1 billion ($118 billion) in the first seven months of this year, a 24% year-over-year increase.
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