Chinese homeowners buy their first homes too early and the homes are too large, the Academy of Social Sciences has warned in a report.
Concerns over future increases in house prices were driving young urban Chinese to buy their first homes “too soon”, thus worsening housing shortages in China’s hubs, the Academy wrote in its annual report on the state of the nation’s real estate market.
The average Chinese city dweller takes on their first mortgage at the age of 27, far earlier than their counterparts overseas, according to a 2010 study by Everbright Bank.
Another factor influencing first-time buyers was traditional pressure on couples to own their own homes before they got married, the report argued. Despite a rise in “naked marriages” between those who don’t own houses and cars, the longing for “a sense of security” pushed people to buy homes early.
The growing trend of home ownership at a young age was one of several problems identified in the annual survey, which could force some cities to “confront the risk of real estate bubbles”, the think tank said.
