With the new issuance of personal housing loans in the mainland at lower interest rates, the interest rate spread between existing and new housing loans has widened recently, and there is a renewed call in the market for a reduction in the interest rate for existing housing loans. According to the Shanghai Securities News, Chen Wenjing, the market research director of Zhongzhi Research Institute, believes that the current interest rate for existing housing loans is still at a relatively high level, and reducing the interest rate for existing housing loans is in line with the eager anticipation of the public. There is an expectation for a reduction in the interest rate for existing housing loans in the future, but the magnitude will not be very large. Given the current pressure on the net interest margin of commercial banks, the willingness of commercial banks to actively reduce the interest rate for existing housing loans is not high, and more supporting policies may be needed to guide banks to lower the interest rates for existing housing loans in the future.

Chen Wenjing stated that the current implementation of interest rates for existing housing loans varies in different regions. In the current market environment, it may be more appropriate for borrowers to exchange with the original commercial bank internally or for the original commercial bank to directly reduce the interest rate for existing housing loans, or to switch mortgages between different banks. People's Bank of China data shows that the average weighted interest rate for new personal housing loans issued in June 2024 was 3.45%, which is significantly higher compared to the interest rates of existing loans. According to the data released by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the net interest margin of commercial banks in the second quarter of this year was 1.54%, which is already at a relatively low level. Chen Wenjing believes that if the interest rate for existing housing loans is reduced in the future, the overall reduction is expected to be lower than the previous one.