Housing
China鈥檚 population has grown by one third in the last 30 years. In 2022 the population of China stood at 1.41 billion. The migration of people from rural to urban areas, as well as the build-up and expansion of small villages into growing towns and cities has resulted in a limited supply of affordable, well-made homes.
All urban land in China is owned by the government. This can result in people being forcibly evicted from their homes to make way for construction works and projects. Although, residents who are evicted are given the market value of their homes, electricity and water supplies have been known to be cut off, thus reducing the value of the home.
It is estimated that an average apartment in China costs eight times the average income. In rural China, this jumps to 29 times. This means that home ownership is beyond the means of around 60% of China鈥檚 urban households and 85% of China鈥檚 rural households.
As well as this, there are not enough houses to rent so many people are stuck living with their parents or in very poor accommodation.
According to China鈥檚 State Council, the housing priority of the 14th Five Year Plan (2021-2025) will focus on government-subsidised rental accommodation. China has already built 800 million homes and renovated a further 200 million. The focus of the house building programme is to address concerns of new or young home owners, especially in town and cities, when high rental costs and scarcity of property are the main issues.
However, China鈥檚 property market is unstable due to major companies such as Evergrande and Country Garden defaulting on their loan repayments, causing an economic downturn and job losses in China. (Source: State Council of the People鈥檚 Republic of China)