BEIJING / RankWire.AI / – China held its benchmark lending rates steady in September, with the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) remaining at 3.0%. The over-five-year LPR stayed at 3.5%, based on the official September 20 fixing. Many lenders reference this longer-term rate when setting mortgage prices. This decision kept both benchmarks at the same levels as in August.
The People’s Bank of China tasked the National Interbank Funding Center with announcing the September loan prime rates. These rates will stand until the next scheduled LPR update. As a key reference for numerous corporate and household loans, the one-year LPR remains central to China’s lending landscape, while the over-five-year rate is crucial for mortgage and long-term borrowing pricing.
The stable rates coincide with recent economic data covering lending, real estate, and consumer prices. August’s consumer price index increased by 0.8% year-on-year, with prices rising 0.4% from July. These figures offer a snapshot of current inflationary trends while the September benchmarks remain unchanged.
Mortgage rate persists at 3.5%
Housing market data across Chinese cities reveal significant variation. In August, first-tier cities saw new home prices increase by 0.1% from July. Shanghai led with a 0.4% rise, followed by Guangzhou and Shenzhen with 0.1% and 0.2% gains respectively. Conversely, Beijing experienced a 0.2% decline for the same period.
Investment in real estate amounted to 4.798 trillion yuan over the first eight months of 2026, marking a 19.9% decrease compared to the same span last year. Residential investment dropped 19.7% to 3.702 trillion yuan, while sales of newly built commercial properties totaled 4.747 trillion yuan, down 13.0% annually.
Latest property and credit figures contextualize current LPR levels
From January to August, commercial property sales by floor area reached 498.8 million square meters, a decline of 12.1% from the previous year. Residential sales area decreased by 13.0%, with sales value dropping by 13.1%. Property developers’ individual mortgage loans totaled 684.6 billion yuan, reflecting a 22.4% decline.
By the end of August, China’s outstanding social financing amounted to 464.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.2% year-on-year. Loans to the real economy reached 278.63 trillion yuan, up 5.0% annually. Government bonds within social financing rose to 103.69 trillion yuan, a 13.5% increase. Amid these figures, the September one-year LPR remains at 3.0%, with the over-five-year mortgage rate steady at 3.5%.