By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-09-26 01:18:32 | Updated at 2024-09-30 17:28:33
4 days ago
China’s mortgage rate cut for existing properties will hardly make any impact for Ivy Cai, as the Shanghai-based homeowner is facing the burden of a 15,000 yuan (US$2,131) monthly repayment.
She is expected to save a few hundred yuan per month once the rate cut, announced on Tuesday as part of a bumper round of measures to support the world’s second-largest economy, is implemented.
But the 43-year-old said that much money “can hardly do anything in Shanghai”, one of the most expensive cities in the world, where a standard lunch can easily cost 100 yuan (US$14.2).
“With no significant increase in income, I can only deprioritise other expenses,” Cai said.
“Many costs that used to seem necessary now feel optional, leading to tough choices.”
