Why so many of mainland China's millennials can afford houses

Millennials in mainland China have much higher home ownership rates than those in Hong Kong. Photo / 123rf

A survey has suggested that mainland China has the highest rate of home ownership among young people in several countries polled.

The study by HSBC found that 70 per cent of "millennials" surveyed on the mainland owned their own home. That compared with 35 per cent in the United States and 31 per cent in Britain.

Some 9,000 people were polled in nine countries aged between 19 and 36.

The high rate of home ownership among younger Chinese could be due to the cultural value placed in owning your own property, relatively high incomes for young people, or the one-child policy allowing parents to devote resources to one offspring, according to analysts.

Despite skyrocketing housing prices in major Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, many smaller Chinese cities are still affordable for young people, according to Vincent Cheung Kiu-cho, deputy managing director at Colliers International, a real estate consultancy.

Some young Chinese people can earn higher incomes in second and third-tier cities and then buy cheaper properties in their smaller home towns, he said.

Volar Ye, 27, owns a property with his wife in Guangdong province, bought for them by his parents.

The couple are now trying to buy another flat.

"Properties are fixed assets, a more material investment than something like stocks," Ye said.

"Once middle-class young people save some money, they invest in real estate. There aren't that many other industries to choose from for investments or that they have confidence in."

Parents in mainland China also often provide down payments for their children buying property.

The HSBC survey found that 40 per cent of young Chinese home owners sought help when buying property.

The situation on the mainland contrasts with the problems young people face in Hong Kong trying to buy a home.

A survey published last year by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups suggested many young people expected to work for up to 25 years before they could afford an apartment.

- South China Morning Post