China Youth Daily: Recruiting talents is not just about letting young people in small towns go back to their hometown to buy houses

Xiong Zhi

08:10, February 21, 2019 Source: China Youth News
 
Original title: Recruiting talents is not just about letting young people in small towns go back home to buy houses

Did you go back to your hometown to buy a house this Spring Festival? Has the house price gone up there?

Under the pressure of housing prices in first tier cities, there are not a few young people who choose to buy houses in second tier and third tier cities or even their home counties. Similar phenomenon of homecoming has become a fixed topic during the Spring Festival. Those real estate sales offices and intermediaries are also willing to operate as usual in the days of family reunion to receive these short-lived visitors from Beijing. This phenomenon once led to the rise of the property market in low-end cities.

However, this year, the phenomenon of urban youth returning home to buy property has shown a cooling trend. Data shows that in the two weeks before and after the Spring Festival from January 28 to February 10, the turnover of the third and fourth tier cities in the 100 city data monitored by a research center dropped by 23% year on year. The bustling sales offices in the past are now deserted. The real estate consultants who used to give red envelopes to obtain consulting opportunities have started to actively contact the home buyers.

It is difficult to say whether it is a phased phenomenon or the beginning of a new trend when returning home for home purchase during the Spring Festival. From a macro perspective, in view of the salary level and housing price pressure in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and other places, the demand for buying houses in the second, third and fourth tier cities will exist for a long time. In addition to the general trend of industrial migration and population return in the central and western regions, there will be more and more migrant workers who will return to their hometown and local key cities after saving enough money for housing purchase to start a less stressful and better quality life.

In the past few years, returning home to buy property during the Spring Festival has become a trend. On the one hand, this is due to the pressure of life in big cities on young people, and on the other hand, the rise of low-end cities. The high-speed rail network extending in all directions and the subway construction under intensive construction have improved the convenience of life in small cities. However, under such general trends, there are also some phenomena worthy of vigilance.

The false fire of home purchase even spread to small counties, which is an important manifestation of the problem. During the Spring Festival last year, an article titled "The property market carnival in a small county is the fatal harvest of the rural middle class" triggered extensive discussion. The author based himself on his hometown and county seat, and personally observed the false high housing prices. It is estimated that many people have experience.

Small county towns include some low-end cities. The ratio of land supply to house purchase demand is far higher than that of large cities. It can become an important scene of home purchase, which is inseparable from capital intervention. Behind it is the relaxation of regulation. For example, in the investment of fixed assets, for the sake of short-term achievements, some regions still invest a lot of funds in real estate rather than public services; In terms of land supply, the urban boundary is constantly expanded, and there is a lack of planning ideas matching the actual population.

Adding fuel to capital and benefiting from land finance, similar to short-term utilitarian thinking, can indeed inject a shot in the arm into the local economy in the wave of home purchase, but destocking will become an unavoidable subsequent risk.

Moreover, for those homebuyers, unlike large cities with limited land and housing, the total population and actual needs of small cities are much smaller, and it is more difficult to sell houses. Once the bubble of low-end cities is punctured, their hard accumulated house purchase funds in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen will be firmly embedded and become reaped "collectors".

The cooling down of homecoming property purchase during the Spring Festival also shows, to some extent, that after the false fire in the property market is recognized, the state of rushing forward gradually gives way to a rational wait-and-see. Home buyers are becoming more and more cautious, which is undoubtedly a good thing. Even if they buy their houses in their hometown cities, most of them will return to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in a migratory manner after the Spring Festival, and work hard for a few more years, because low-end cities may not be able to provide enough employment opportunities.

The separation of work and housing caused by homecoming inevitably leaves a pile of vacant houses. Therefore, at present, the competition for talents launched by the second tier cities is in full swing, and some third tier and fourth tier cities have also taken out various subsidies to attract talents, not only to let the vagrants go home to buy houses, but also to let them stay in local employment, so as to maximize the cake of demographic dividend.

From this point of view, we should be more alert to the false fire in the property market, avoid the one-time harvest of homebuyers, and distinguish between real demand for housing and investment speculation. At the same time, cultivate internal skills in industrial layout and public service level. If the housing price is off track and does not match the local employment opportunities and wage levels, even if people are robbed, they will not be able to stay in the end. The huge inventory pressure and the housing bubble will eventually lay hidden dangers for the local economy.

(Editor in charge: Miao Nanyu (intern), Dong Xiaowei)