PBOC acts to boost home sales

Down payments for first-time buyers cut for the second time in five months

In a bid to revive China's urban housing market, the central bank lowered the minimum down payment for first-time homebuyers on Tuesday for the second time in less than five months.

The People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission announced that the down payments for first-time homebuyers would be reduced from 25 percent to 20 percent. Economists described the move as "pointing to the healthy growth of the market".