• Burmese
Sunday, May 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
34 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

China Challenge: Getting Poor Migrant Workers to Buy Vacant Homes

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
January 4, 2016
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
China Challenge: Getting Poor Migrant Workers to Buy Vacant Homes

New apartment buildings are seen under construction in Nanjing

2.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

BEIJING / HONG KONG — Rattled by the potential economic fallout from millions of unsold homes, China wants migrant workers to buy properties in smaller cities and ease the burden on a real estate sector that makes up about 15 percent of the country’s economic growth.

The move underscores Beijing’s concerns over a stock of some 1 billion square meters of vacant housing—around 13 million homes or enough to house the population of Australia—and the broader knock-on effect of any defaults by struggling property developers as the world’s second-largest economy grows at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century.

While encouraging migrants to buy homes in lower-tier cities seems like a remedy to boost demand, making money available to them will prove tougher. Many of China’s more than 270 million migrants earn below 3,000 yuan (US$462) a month, less than half the cost per square meter needed for a home in a lower-tier city such as Changzhou, in eastern Jiangsu province.

RelatedPosts

58 Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Target Civilians in Two Weeks

58 Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Target Civilians in Two Weeks

May 17, 2025
412
Regime’s Moscow Show Masks Military Collapse in Myanmar; and More

Regime’s Moscow Show Masks Military Collapse in Myanmar; and More

May 17, 2025
584
Myanmar Junta Abandons Chinese Pipeline Amid Resistance Attacks

Myanmar Junta Abandons Chinese Pipeline Amid Resistance Attacks

May 16, 2025
1.9k

With low incomes and few assets, migrant laborers are not obviously attractive loan candidates, and the authorities will need to find property developers willing to sell homes at a discount and local governments ready to subsidize purchases.

“Conditions are not mature for migrant workers to buy unsold homes. You can’t count on a certificate for housing ownership to resolve everything,” said Jason Hu, head of research at Chinese property consultant Holdways in Beijing.

“Everyone wants to settle in the city, but where’s the money?” said Hu, adding other issues need to be resolved such as giving migrant workers equal access to social security and public services.

Distant Dream

Senior leaders have said China will step up efforts to tackle property inventories this year, including helping migrant workers buy or rent homes in cities, and encouraging developers to cut prices.

Authorities aim to get 100 million migrants to settle in cities by 2020, and officials in small-and medium-sized cities have pledged to give permanent resident status, or hukou, to more rural people, although access to welfare remains a concern.

Another potential obstacle is that more than 70 percent of migrant workers already living in cities prefer to rent, according to National Health and Family Planning Commission data.

“If I can earn enough I’d go back to the city near my hometown and buy a home there,” said a restaurant worker in Beijing who gave just his surname of Long. “Prices here are too high, it’s impossible for me to settle here,” added the 26-year-old who left his village in central Hunan province five years ago.

With home ownership still a distant dream for most low-income migrant workers, the challenge is to make homes more affordable.

“The hurdle is very clear: how to encourage the low income group to purchase property—to improve affordability,” said Zhou Hao, economist at Commerzbank in Singapore.

In a bid to prevent struggling developers from defaulting if they have to cut prices—and the impact this could have on the underground financial system that funds many of them—local authorities have launched a plan to pilot rural land collateral loans in 291 selected counties.

Urbanization

It is not yet clear whether property developers and local governments—which earn much of their revenue through land sales—will be willing to support Beijing’s attempts to clear bloated housing inventory.

“I’m not sure what the government could do to ‘encourage price cuts’ unless it’s going to subsidize them,” said Yin Chin Cheong, a Singapore-based analyst at CreditSights.

Some developers welcomed the move, saying the proposal is part and parcel of China’s urbanization process.

“It would stimulate demand for housing. But these are not temporary measures to run down inventory, they are part of a long-term urbanization,” said Fan Xiaochong, vice president of Sunshine 100, a developer focused on second- and third-tier cities.

Beijing also wants low-income city residents and those living in dilapidated housing to buy cheaper unsold homes.

While parallels have been drawn with the US subprime crisis, which was also preceded by excess housing inventory, risky mortgages and aggressive lending, some experts shrugged off such a scenario.

“Mortgage penetration levels are lower and down-payments are higher compared with the US, and household debt is much lower. So it’s unlikely to snowball into a sub-prime like situation,” said Christopher Yip, Hong Kong-based analyst at Standard & Poor’s.

Your Thoughts …
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
88.6k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
86.9k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
58.8k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
46.6k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.4k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Vietnam Protests after China Lands Plane on Disputed Spratlys

Vietnam Protests after China Lands Plane on Disputed Spratlys

Quake Strikes Northeast India; Toll Reaches Four Dead

Quake Strikes Northeast India; Toll Reaches Four Dead, Nearly 100 Injured

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

How Myanmar Junta Uses Air Force to Fight Its Corner

How Myanmar Junta Uses Air Force to Fight Its Corner

5 days ago
1.2k
Myanmar Junta Leader Scores Diplomatic Win With Xi Meeting in Moscow

Myanmar Junta Leader Scores Diplomatic Win With Xi Meeting in Moscow

3 days ago
984

Most Read

  • Workers at Adidas Factory in Myanmar Strike for Living Wage

    Workers at Adidas Factory in Myanmar Strike for Living Wage

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Ousted Myanmar Envoy to UK Charged With Trespass in London Residence Row

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Three Japanese Firms Ditch Myanmar Port Project

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Abandons Chinese Pipeline Amid Resistance Attacks

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Regime’s Moscow Show Masks Military Collapse in Myanmar; and More

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.