Younger generation in Beijing increasingly dependent on parents for housing, poll says

Soaring housing prices in Beijing have taken a heavy toll on the younger generation, forcing many to increasingly depend on their ageing parents for housing, a latest study has revealed.

Over 76 per cent of college graduates in employment under the age of 34 do not own their own house, with one in four of these living with their parents, according to a poll that surveyed more than 4,300 Beijing residents.

Three-quarters of those who own their own homes relied on financial help from their parents when they purchased the properties. Of those helped financially by parents, one-quarter had their homes paid entirely by their parents, said the study, which was published on Monday as part of the China Youth Development Report by the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

The findings of the study have shed light on how the post-1980 working generation struggle to find housing amid surging costs. Though their parents may have voluntarily assisted them, those young men and women dependent on financial help from their parents have been criticised as “sponging off parents”.

Furthermore, the economic background of parents is “playing a decisive role” in the housing condition of their children, as “support from parents is a crucial way to obtain a house,” the study said.

And those who rent homes pay on average a little less than 2,000 yuan (HK$2,514) in monthly rent, which is roughly 37 per cent of their income - a “relatively heavy financial burden on daily life,” the study concluded.