The mainland government is continuing to tighten the screws on second-home mortgage approvals as it tries to damp speculative demand.

The Shanghai Securities News quoted China Banking Regulatory Commission director Yang Jiacai as saying that banks will identify whether the buyer is acquiring a second home by basing on the number of the flats the family owns and not on the number of properties that the buyer owns individually.

Previously, the banks did not have a standard rule on identifying second-home buyers when approving mortgages. Investors could apply for mortgage plans with lower down payments and could access interest rates normally offered to first-time buyers even if their spouses or family members already owned properties.

South China Morning Post