2016年CRI China to Further Promote Housing System Encouraging Renting and Purchasing

 

A recent survey by the Global Cities Business Alliance, a London-based non-profit, has found Beijing is - by far - the most expensive city in the world to rent an apartment. 

Compared with the world-wide range of "affordable¹ housing" rate, which is somewhere between 30 to 40-percent of a person's monthly income, the rate in Beijing is well over 120 percent. 

Uncertainty² among would-be home-buyers in Beijing and other cities in China about the property market has pushed many to the sidelines, pushing up rental³ rates as people choose to rent, rather than buy. 

To try to counter this trend, the State Council, China's Cabinet, is moving to promote a housing system which encourages both renting and purchasing. 

This includes subsidies⁴ for those who qualify for public housing but choose to rent. 

At the same time, non-registered workers from other cities who live in urban areas with a stable job, as well as newly-employed undergraduates and young professionals, such as doctors and teachers, are also going to be included in the subsidy⁵ scheme. 

Liu Hongyu with Tsinghua University says more emphasis needs to be put on regulating China's rental market.

"We didn't put as much emphasis on the rental market as we did on the selling of houses in the real estate industry. Now more should be done to establish a more regulated rental housing market to meet people's needs." 

Zhang Dawei, chief analyst⁶ at property agency Centaline, says this move should be able to stabilize⁷ housing prices, and also reduce speculation⁸ in the property market. 

"Currently, due to the continued rise in housing prices, many purchasers fear they may lose the chance to buy properties at a low price, so they tend to choose speculation. This has resulted in an irrational⁹ jump in housing prices. Many people focus too much on the property's price appreciation¹⁰ in the short term, rather than a long-term benefit in the rental process." 

The new policies outlined by the State Council also allow for turning commercial flats into rental flats. 

Tax breaks and other preferential policies will also be applied¹¹ to the rental market.

In addition, stricter supervision¹² will be imposed on rental agencies to better-protect tenants¹³' rights.

Regardless, Yang Hongxu with the E-house Research Institute in Shanghai says more concrete measures should be taken to address the lingering problems in the rental housing market.

"Local governments all have different policies. Often local governments will rent or purchase existing homes and turn them into subsidized housing. But now, the problem is that a lot of local governments just don't have the money to do this anymore. There are a lot of ways to fix problems in the social housing market, but it's often difficult to put them into practice. This is why we think there needs to be more policies put out at a national level." 

As workers gravitate toward big cities like Beijing for work, it also pushes people further outside the city where rental rates are cheaper.

At the same time, a recent survey by Xinhua has found around one-fifth of the roughly 7.7-million migrant workers in Beijing either live underground in buildings without proper amenities¹⁴, or at their work sites. 

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

3 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

4 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

8 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

9 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

10 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

11 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

12 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

13 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

14 amenities   

n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快

参考例句：

• The campsite is close to all local amenities. 营地紧靠当地所有的便利设施。
• Parks and a theatre are just some of the town's local amenities. 公园和戏院只是市镇娱乐设施的一部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》