NEW individual mortgage loans dropped sharply in Shanghai in the first half from a year ago as the central government continued to curb the housing market, data from the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China showed yesterday.

A total of 16.48 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) in new mortgages were granted in the first six months of this year in the city, against 50.7 billion yuan in the same period a year ago.

China has ordered banks to impose a minimum down payment of 60 percent on second homes and to charge interest rates 1.1 times of the benchmark rate. Banks are also banned from offering loans to third or more homes.