Mortgage limits for housing provident fund loans are tight in many places

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This post was last edited by dlutyj on 2016-4-7 at 21:04. The recovery in the real estate market has led to a continuous high demand for the use of housing provident funds, resulting in tight limits on loan amounts available through such funds in many areas. As a result, long queues formed at the windows of the Zhengzhou Baihua Road Housing Provident Fund office. Recently, dozens of people have been queuing here all night long every day, and the service hall is also packed with people. Some people said, “We arrived before 6 a.m. this morning; we’re now in line number 22.” It’s especially difficult, and it takes a very long time to handle. ” 　　With housing provident fund accounts strained in various regions, it is inevitable that loan approvals will slow down, the lending cycle will lengthen, and strict controls will be imposed on loan amounts; in severe cases, this can even lead to a suspension of loans. For example, the disbursement speed for housing provident fund loans in Nanjing has slowed down, with the current loan approval process taking up to half a year. Fuzhou plans to suspend the processing of applications to convert commercial loans into housing provident fund loans starting from April 15, and will resume such services depending on the situation once the utilization rate of housing provident fund loans falls below 90%. Song Huiyong, director of the research and consulting department at Shanghai Centaline Property, believes that even first-tier cities have felt the heat in the market, particularly in terms of rising housing prices. Therefore, there is a possibility that there will be some tightening in the criteria for credit issuance in the future. 　　Chen Jiangong, head of the Credit Department at the Zhengzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center, believes that under this year’s overall strategy of reducing inventory levels, various supportive policies have been introduced on both the supply and demand sides of the real estate market. These policies have led to an increase in market transaction volumes, boosted people’s enthusiasm for purchasing homes, and as a result, the ratio of housing loans financed through provident funds has risen. Since last May, the requirements for applying for loans have been relaxed and loan policies adjusted in a more lenient direction, which increased the number of people who met the loan criteria. As a result, loan disbursements rose rapidly, and the amount of funds available in the housing fund decreased quickly as well. This situation is reflected in the high utilization rate of housing funds for personal loans; taking Zhengzhou as an example, this utilization rate rose quickly from 80% at the beginning of the year to 96%. Although mortgage loans using housing provident funds are facing difficulties in many areas at present, local authorities have also made corresponding policy adjustments based on the actual situation, to ensure that people who intend to buy homes can obtain such loans smoothly.