BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Beijing reported a 5th quarter-on-quarter decline in mortgage loans in the second quarter this year as its property market cooled following a spate of measures.
Banks in Beijing extended 7.86 billion yuan (1.15 billion U.S. dollars) of mortgage loans on average per month in the April-June period, continuing a decline that started a year ago, the Beijing Office of the China Banking Regulatory Commission said Tuesday.
Monthly mortgage loans averaged 26.85 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2017 in a red-hot property market and then fell quarter on quarter in the next five quarters, it said.
The office has taken a series of measures to prevent funds illegally flowing into the property market.
Meanwhile, banks extended more loans for public housing development as the city government seeks to build more public housing to offer more affordable homes for city dwellers.
By June, the outstanding loans for the government-funded public housing projects in Beijing totaled 233.7 billion yuan, of which loans for renovation of shanty towns and public rental housing totaled 44.47 billion yuan, an increase of 25.5 percent from six months ago.
Since mid-March last year, authorities in Beijing have rolled out a spate of control measures, including stricter purchasing limits and higher down payment and mortgage rates, to curb real estate speculation.
