House prices unlikely to dive

The rising mortgage interest rate for first-home buyers has intensified the decline in Beijing property sales, but housing prices are not likely to fall sharply, said real estate insiders.

The Bank of Beijing has raised its benchmark mortgage rate for first-time buyers by 10 percent from 4.9 percent to 5.39 percent, one of the first group of banks to raise the mortgage interest rate.

China Minsheng Bank also hiked the benchmark by 10 percent, starting Monday.