BEIJING / RankWire.AI / – China held its benchmark borrowing rates steady in September, with the one-year loan prime rate remaining at 3.0%. The over-five-year LPR also stayed at 3.5%, according to the official September 20 fixing. Many financial institutions reference the longer-term rate for setting mortgage prices. This decision maintained both lending benchmarks at their August levels.
The People’s Bank of China assigned the task of announcing the September loan prime rates to the National Interbank Funding Center. These figures will stay in effect until the next scheduled LPR update. The one-year LPR is a crucial indicator for numerous corporate and household loans, while the over-five-year rate primarily influences mortgage and longer-term borrowing costs.
Alongside the unchanged rates, recent economic indicators covering lending, housing, and consumer prices have been released. In August, China’s consumer price index increased by 0.8% compared to the previous year, and prices also rose by 0.4% from July. These figures offer insight into current price trends, even as the September lending benchmarks remain stable.
Mortgage benchmark held steady at 3.5%
Data from China’s housing market highlight significant variations across cities and sectors. In August, new home prices in first-tier cities experienced a 0.1% rise from July. Shanghai led with a 0.4% monthly increase, while Guangzhou and Shenzhen saw gains of 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. Conversely, Beijing saw a 0.2% decline during the same period.
Real estate investment during the first eight months of 2026 totaled 4.798 trillion yuan, reflecting a 19.9% drop compared to the same period in the previous year. Residential investment decreased by 19.7%, reaching 3.702 trillion yuan. Commercial property sales of newly constructed units amounted to 4.747 trillion yuan, down 13.0% year-on-year.
Latest property and credit figures influence the current LPR settings
The total floor area of newly sold commercial properties from January through August reached 498.8 million square meters, marking a 12.1% decline from the previous year. Residential sales area contracted by 13.0%, while the monetary value of residential sales dropped by 13.1%. During this period, property developers obtained individual mortgage loans totaling 684.6 billion yuan, a decrease of 22.4%.
By the end of August, China’s social financing outstanding was 464.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.2% compared to the previous year. Loans denominated in renminbi to the real economy stood at 278.63 trillion yuan, up 5.0% annually. Government bonds within the social financing stock reached 103.69 trillion yuan, reflecting a 13.5% rise. Considering these developments, the September one-year LPR remains at 3.0%, with the over-five-year mortgage rate steady at 3.5%.