30/12/2016
How expensive to buy an apartment in Beijing?
Real estate market was “crazy” in 2015 & 2016 in China. The traditional “Top 4”, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou & Shenzhen were as usual: apartment prices were still high, strong & going up fast. “Top 4” cities have the best resources (education, hospitals, cultural life, etc.) & best opportunities (for jobs, business, even artwork buyers). That’s why Chinese people are rushing into “Top 4”, causing the imbalance between supply and demand.
Since apartment prices are so expensive in “Top 4”, some small cities around “Top 4” with 2 hours commuting distance also become popular, for example: Yanjiao next to Beijing & Kunshan next to Shanghai.
The ordinary apartment price, about 1 hour commuting to downtown, in Beijing is about RMB 50,000/㎡ (USD 7,143). But some “crazy” ones are as much as RMB 100,000/㎡ (USD 14,286) or even higher. But the average salary in Beijing was only about USD 1,000/month in 2015 (announced by Beijing Government), which means a person needs to save up for 30 years’ total salaries without spending a coin so that he can afford to buy a 50㎡(538 sq.ft) studio size apartment. Hard to imagine, isn’t it?
Yanjiao is a satellite city next to Beijing, about 35 km from Beijing’s downtown. But even in such a satellite city, the apartment price is also quite expensive, about RMB 30,000/㎡(USD 4,286). So it’s really not an easy thing to buy an apartment in Beijing, or around Beijing.
On September 30th, 2016, governments in different provinces in China announced a series of local policies to control apartment prices. Chinese people call it “930 new policy”, its main content is to upgrade the entry levels, so that much less people are qualified for buying apartments. And indeed it works a little bit, the transactions volume sharply went down, but prices didn’t. Fewer people buy after “930”, but sellers don’t want to lower prices.
Most people predict that real estate market in China will be stable in 2017, prices won’t go up or down fast, but will remain same & stable. However, even though prices won’t go up, but neither go down, so it’s still just a dream to buy an apartment for those busy & hard working young people squeezed into subway on Monday morning.
Conti Wall Consulting is a solution provider based in Beijing, with years of experience in terms of consultancy service for foreign clients from all over world. Our expertise, insights & unique connections will save your time & minimize your puzzles. If you have any questions about business & policies in China, you are welcome to contact us.
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