Adjustment of Hubei's Housing Provident Fund Loan Policies.

On October 31, the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Hubei Province issued and implemented the "Notice on Further Optimizing the Use of Housing Provident Fund to Promote the Stable Operation of the Real Estate Market", effective immediately. The "Notice" clarifies five new policies to increase loan amounts, adjust loan terms, broaden the use of housing provident fund, remove restrictions on purchasing property in a different location, and support using housing provident fund to directly pay rent, in order to meet residents' rigid and diversified improvement housing needs. In terms of loan policies, the differences in housing provident fund loan amounts for first-time and second-time home buyers are removed, and the maximum loan amount is unified; for purchasing "good quality" high-end residential properties or properties already on the market, the maximum loan amount can be increased by no less than 20%; for purchasing affordable housing, the minimum down payment ratio is adjusted to 15%.