In an effort to stimulate the local real estate market, Beijing, the capital of China, announced measures to lower the cost of purchasing a home, including lowering mortgage interest rates and the required minimum down payment. The actions, which were disclosed in a statement from the local government, follow the central bank's announcement last month of new rules lowering minimum mortgage rates and down payments, which prompted property policies to be loosened in dozens of cities. According to the statement, Beijing is reducing the required minimum down payment for a first-time house buyer from 30% to 20% and for some second-home purchasers from 40% to 35%. Additionally, the city is lowering the floor rate for a first-time home mortgage to 45 basis points less than the loan prime rate (LPR). The floor used to be the LPR + 10 basis points. Due to Beijing's actions, the four largest cities in China have now loosened their mortgage and other regulations, which should increase demand from homebuyers, according to analyst Yan Yuejin of the E-House China Research and Development Institution. The second-largest economy in the world has been severely hampered by China's failing real estate sector.