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 rate set on September 20. Many lenders reference the longer-term rate when setting mortgage prices. This decision kept both lending benchmarks unchanged from August levels.
The People’s Bank of China authorized the National Interbank Funding Center to announce the September loan prime rates. These rates will stay in effect until the next scheduled LPR update. The one-year LPR is a crucial benchmark for numerous corporate and household loans. Meanwhile, the over-five-year rate mainly influences mortgage and other long-term loan pricing.
The decision to leave rates unchanged coincides with new economic data covering lending, housing, and consumer prices. China’s consumer price index increased by 0.8% in August compared to the previous year. Prices also rose by 0.4% from July. These figures offer a snapshot of current price trends, even as the September lending benchmarks remain stable.
Mortgage benchmark remains at 3.5%
Housing data in China continue to reveal significant variations across different cities and market sectors. In August, new home prices in first-tier cities increased by 0.1% from July. Shanghai saw a 0.4% rise month-on-month, while Guangzhou and Shenzhen experienced gains of 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. Conversely, Beijing reported a 0.2% decline for the same period.
Real estate investment during the first eight months of 2026 totaled 4.798 trillion yuan. This marked a decrease of 19.9% compared to the same timeframe in the previous year. Residential investments dropped 19.7%, reaching 3.702 trillion yuan. Sales of newly constructed commercial properties amounted to 4.747 trillion yuan, down 13.0% year on year.
Latest property and credit figures align with current LPR levels
From January through August, sales of newly built commercial properties by floor area totaled 498.8 million square meters. This represented a 12.1% decline from the previous year. Residential sales area fell by 13.0%, and the value of residential sales decreased by 13.1%. During this period, individual mortgage loans to property developers totaled 684.6 billion yuan, reflecting a decrease of 22.4%.
As of the end of August, China’s total social financing reached 464.8 trillion yuan, up 7.2% from a year earlier. Renminbi loans to the real economy stood at 278.63 trillion yuan, increasing by 5.0% annually. The stock of government bonds within social financing was 103.69 trillion yuan, up 13.5%. Against this backdrop, the September one-year LPR remains at 3.0%, and the over-five-year mortgage rate stays at 3.5%.