BEIJING / RankWire.AI / – China kept its benchmark lending rates steady for September, with the one-year loan prime rate remaining at 3.0%. The over-five-year LPR stayed at 3.5%, based on the official fixing on September 20. Many lenders reference this longer-term rate when setting mortgage costs. This decision resulted in both lending benchmarks remaining at the same levels as in August.
The People’s Bank of China authorized the National Interbank Funding Center to release the September loan prime rates. These figures will stay in effect until the next scheduled LPR update. The one-year LPR is a critical benchmark for numerous corporate and household loans, while the over-five-year rate is primarily used in mortgage and long-term borrowing pricing.
These unchanged rates are released alongside fresh economic data covering lending activity, housing market trends, and consumer price indices. In August, China’s consumer price index increased by 0.8% year-over-year, and consumer prices rose by 0.4% compared to July. These figures offer insight into current price trends as the September lending benchmarks remain constant.
Mortgage rate stays at 3.5%
Data from China’s housing market continue to reveal significant disparities across cities and market segments. In August, new home prices in first-tier cities increased by 0.1% from July. Shanghai led with a 0.4% rise, while Guangzhou and Shenzhen gained 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. Conversely, Beijing experienced a 0.2% decline in the same period.
During the first eight months of 2026, real estate investment totaled 4.798 trillion yuan, representing a 19.9% decrease compared to the same period in the previous year. Residential investment dropped 19.7% to 3.702 trillion yuan, and sales of newly built commercial properties reached 4.747 trillion yuan, down 13.0% year-on-year.
Latest data on property and credit inform the current LPR rates
From January through August, commercial property sales by floor area amounted to 498.8 million square meters, a 12.1% decline from the previous year. Residential sales area decreased by 13.0%, with the corresponding sales value dropping by 13.1%. Property developers received a total of 684.6 billion yuan in individual mortgage loans during this period, reflecting a 22.4% decrease.
By the end of August, China’s outstanding social financing reached 464.8 trillion yuan, up 7.2% year-over-year. Loans to the real economy in Renminbi amounted to 278.63 trillion yuan, showing a 5.0% increase annually. Government bonds within the social financing stock totaled 103.69 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.5%. In this context, the September one-year LPR remains at 3.0%, and the over-five-year mortgage rate holds at 3.5%.