(Yicai Global) Feb. 27 -- China's commercial banks have decided to raise mortgage rates for first-time homebuyers. The decision comes despite the overall credit line has increased after the Chinese New Year, which started two weeks ago, and represents the latest step in most banks tightening up control on mortgage lending.

Many provinces in North, East and South China including Hebei, Anhui, Guangdong and Jiangsu have seen increases in mortgage rates for first-time homebuyers, and banks in several major cities have nudged up housing loan interest rates by a minimum of 5 percent to 20 percent above the benchmark lending rate, financial newspaper Securities Daily reported. It also means private banks have hiked rates more aggressively relative to their state-run counterparts.

From interviews with 11 Beijing-based bank branches and real estate agencies, the Securities Daily learned that some banks had increased mortgage rates for first-time homebuyers. In most cases, first-time homebuyers are asked to pay a mortgage rate 10 percent higher than the benchmark lending rate, while some banks have increased rates by as much as 20 percent to 30 percent. A local regulator in Hebei province confirmed the mortgage rates for second-home buyers have also increased by 20 percent over the benchmark rate.

Several realtors told the newspaper that most of their customers got mortgages at a rate 10 percent higher than the benchmark rate, and some buyers secured loans with a 5 percent markup, but it was virtually impossible to get a mortgage at the benchmark rate, which the central bank has set at 4.9 percent for loans longer than five years. The benchmark rate is typically used to set floating-rate mortgages.