China is seeking to maintain stability in the property market this year after the roller coaster ride of 2016, with measures to prevent surges in metropolises and the growing inventories in small cities.File photo:Xinhua

Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region reportedly extends the maximum age at the end of the mortgage in the city to 80 years old, local media outlet Nanguo Zaobao reported on Sunday.

At least eight properties in Nanning are advertising the new mortgage policy while a number of banks in Nanning have confirmed and implemented the policy, according to the report.

A representative from the Nanning Branch of China CITIC Bank said that the bank issued a notice on February 10 to officially adjusted the maximum age of a residential mortgage borrower to end mortgage from 70 years to 80 years old, meaning that a 50 year-old home buyer can apply for a maximum mortgage term of 30 years if they fit requirement, according to the report. 

Another bank insider said that his bank has implemented the policy from the end of last year, the report said.

The move is in line with the recent easing policies targeting China’s property market and fits the changing market demand for older home buyers, as China moves toward an aging society, Yan Yuejin, research director at Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute, told the Global Times on Sunday.

In recent weeks, policymakers have ramped up support for property market and easing policies were rolled out across China.

Since the beginning of 2023, at least 8 cities have raised the cap for housing loans under provident fund, according to Securities Times.

At the same time, more than 20 cities have lowered interest rates for the first-time home buyers to less than 4 percent, as part of broader efforts to revive the real estate market, according to China Index Academy, one of China's biggest real estate research firms.

China's central bank and the banking and insurance regulator in January released a dynamic adjustment mechanism on mortgage rates for first-time home buyers in a bid to further support the property sector.

For cities where the selling prices of new homes have fallen month-on-month and year-on-year for three consecutive months, the floor on mortgage rates can be lowered or abolished for first-time home buyers in phases, according to a statement by the People's Bank of China on January 5.

China will support the healthy development of the property market, which is still a pillar industry for the economy, said Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland in January.

China is committed to stabilizing expectations, providing reasonable liquidity and relaxing restrictions that were formerly introduced to address overheating in the market, Liu said.