What is the average cost of a house in China?
In 2020, the average sales price for residential real estate in Shenzhen was over 56 thousand yuan per square meters. It was the highest price among all major cities in China. The average price across the country was 15,192 yuan per square meter.
In China's tier-one cities — like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen — housing costs around 14 times as much as the average salary, a 2020 report from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy found. In tier-two cities, homes cost roughly seven times the average salary, the report shows.
You can live in most China's major cities for far less than $1,000 per month, and with a great lifestyle. However, there's always room for luxury and more spending. It costs around $1,000 or more to rent a nice apartment in the center of Beijing or Shanghai if that's the kind of lifestyle you are seeking.
China's housing market is among the most expensive in the world when compared to per capita income.
China has at least 65 million empty homes — enough to house the population of France. It offers a glimpse into the country's massive housing-market problem.
The government now provides affordable housing by subsidizing commercial housing purchases or by offering low-rent public (social) housing to middle- and low-income families. At the same time, it relies on the private commercial housing market to meet the needs of higher-income groups.
Today China is a country of homeowners with more than 90% of households owning homes (87% in urban and 96% in rural China) (Clark, Huang, & Yi, 2019). At the same time, more than 20% Chinese households own multiple homes, higher than many developed nations (Huang et al., 2020).
Those on salaries of 2,000 to 5,000 yuan (US$295 to US$740) a month were deemed “middle income”, while a “relatively high” monthly income was 5,000 to 10,000 yuan (US$740 to US$1,480). Anyone earning more than 10,000 yuan a month was in the “high income” group.
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Cost of Living in China.
| Restaurants | Edit |
|---|---|
| Cappuccino (regular) | 26.03¥ |
| co*ke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) | 3.31¥ |
| Water (12 oz small bottle) | 2.15¥ |
| Markets | Edit |
Minimum Wages in China is expected to reach 2590.00 CNY/Month by the end of 2022, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the China Minimum Monthly Wages is projected to trend around 2750.00 CNY/Month in 2023, according to our econometric models.
Does China have homeless?
According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, China had approximately 2,000 shelters and 20,000 social workers to aid approximately 3 million homeless people in 2014. From 2017 to 2019, the government of Guangdong Province assisted 5,388 homeless people in reuniting with relatives elsewhere in China.
Millionaires are defined as individuals with personal wealth of over 10 million yuan, and super-rich are defined as individuals with personal wealth of 100 million yuan or above. One yuan equals approximately 0.16 U.S. dollars and 0.14 euros (as of April 2022).
You may be able to retire comfortably in China on your Social Security retirement benefit, pension or other retirement income. However, it can be difficult to get a visa without other income. You can estimate your retirement benefit amount with a Social Security calculator.
According to experts, sometimes these sold-out houses, buildings, neighborhoods, and even entire cities remain vacant for years, due to a supply-demand imbalance (also believed to be one of the reasons for the Evergrande crisis) caused by excessive urbanization in China.
The phrase “ghost city” might imply a city once full of life and now abandoned. But China's ghost cities are brand new, and their high-rises never populated. Many had remained that way for years, byproducts of rapid economic growth that continue to plague the nation's urban planning strategy.
Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics, estimates that China still has about 30 million unsold properties, which could house 80 million people.
Finally, unlike the property tax system in many developed countries, the real estate tax in China is not levied on the assessed value of the property.
Another way that Chinese home buyers are able to afford their down payments is via the country's Housing Provident Fund. This fund began when the country started privatizing urban housing as way to help residents afford to buy their homes.
So, can foreigners buy property in China? The answer is yes, foreigners are allowed to purchase property in China! The essential requirement is that you have studied or worked in China for at least one year on a residence permit. Foreigners are allowed to only own one residential property for dwelling purposes.
High population density and urbanization – High population density and inflow of migrant workers have put upward pressure on cities' land values and home prices, as developers and home purchasers compete for scarce land resources.
Why are housing prices so high in China?
Strictly speaking, the marketization of China's real estate industry began with the housing reform in 1998 (before which all residential houses were publicly distributed). Following this reform, house prices started rising in Shanghai, and have been rising steadily ever since.
Demand factors such as population inflows certainly contributed to Shenzhen's housing shortage. But an important factor is the local government's land supply policy that tends to favor commercial development over households.
A foreigner can only own one property in China, and that property must be residential. There are additional requirements by province and city. For example, in Beijing, you must pay taxes and social security for at least five years before you are permitted to buy a property.
