(Yicai) Nov. 23 -- Shenzhen has become the second Chinese first-tier city to lower the down payment ratio for second-time home buyers, easing its mortgage policy after the central government introduced a series of policies to bolster property sales last year.

Shenzhen, in China's southern Guangdong province, today cut the down payment ratio for second-time home buyers to 40 percent from 70 percent for standard homes and 80 percent for non-standard ones, Yicai learned from the local branch of the People's Bank of China yesterday.

Guangzhou, another first-tier city in Guangdong, became the first first-tier city to adjust the down payment ratio for second-time house buyers in August, lowering the percentage to 40 percent from at least 70 percent. At that time, industry insiders expected other first-tier cities to follow suit.

The further relaxation of mortgage policy in first-tier cities and the reduction of the down payment ratio will help release the need for apartment purchases to improve living conditions and boost the need for apartment changes, said Yan Yuejin, research director at China Real Estate Information's research institute.

Moreover, the policy became more pragmatic as the down payment ratios for standard and non-standard homes have been set at the same amount, Yan noted.

Various Chinese cities have cut mortgages' down payment ratio in response to instructions from the PBOC and the National Administration of Financial Regulation. For example, Chongqing lowered the down payment ratio for second-time home buyers to 30 percent from 40 percent, while Fuzhou and Xiamen cut it to 40 percent from 50 percent.

Beijing and Shanghai, the two other first-tier cities, are the Chinese cities with the highest down payment ratio for second-time home buyers, with the percentages standing at between 60 percent and 80 percent and 70 percent, respectively.

The Housing and Construction Bureau of Shenzhen also adjusted the requirements to classify a house as standard yesterday. Now, standard homes only need a floor-area ratio of at least one and a room-building area of no more than 120 square meters or a floor area of up to 144 sqm. Before, their actual transaction amount was also required to be less than CNY7.5 million (USD1.1 million).

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Futura Costaglione