Hometown housing losing lure as settling in big cities becomes easier: report
Xinhua
1549796151000

BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Fewer Chinese people plan to return and settle in their hometowns as obtaining housing in big cities become easier, a report showed.

About 52.7 percent of the respondents have plans for settling in their hometowns, down from 58.7 percent in last year's survey, according to a report by online marketplace 58.com and housing information platform anjuke.com.

The report attributed the dip to the preferential policies rolled out by big cities to lure and retain talents as well as the development of the housing rental market.

Compared with a year ago, new house prices for 2018 in four first-tier cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou -- edged up 0.5 percent on average, shrinking from the 10.1-percent rise during the same period a year earlier, official data showed. The growth of resold house prices also saw a significant slowdown.

About 42.8 percent of those who consider going back made that choice out of career development plans, more than double the share in the previous survey.