Ningbo to ease housing loans to boost births

Ningbo, Zhejiang province, will soon relax its housing provident fund loan policies for families with two or three children, local authorities announced on Thursday.

Starting on Jan 1, the city will raise the upper limit of such loans from 600,000 yuan ($94,000) to 800,000 yuan for first-time homebuyers who have two or three children and have paid into the fund for two consecutive years.

Since China further relaxed its family planning policy, allowing couples to have up to three children, many provident fund payers in Ningbo have been concerned about supporting measures related to housing issues, local authorities said.

Ningbo conducted research on the issue and modified preferential housing provident fund loan policies for families with two or three children to reduce their burden and encourage births.