In Beijing alone, 7 million or roughly a third of the total population rented their homes in 2015. (Photo : Getty Images)
In a report released by Dingding Rent, an online rental service, most Chinese prefer renting instead of purchasing real estate, cited China Daily.
In Beijing alone, 7 million or roughly a third of the total population rented their homes in 2015. Half of the respondents were under 30, while 41-year-olds made up 17 percent.
Also, 18 percent of the renters were revealed to have a Beijing hukou or household registration, according to Dingding Rent, which is run by Lianjia, Beijing's leading housing agent.
Those who do have their own property in the city prefer to rent for a variety for reasons, including proximity to work, school and other economic reasons.
Such is the case with Liu Peng, who rented a two-bedroom apartment in Dongzhimen last year instead of staying in his own apartment near Fifth Ring Road. The rental was located nearby his daughter's school, Shijia Primary.
Liu and his daughter spend their weekdays at the rented apartment, which costs them about 7,500 yuan per month. Come weekend, they return to their own apartment.
"It does give us some economic pressure, but it is worthwhile because she can walk to school in three minutes," said Liu in an interview with China Daily.
It's almost the same situation with Cheng Chen and her husband, who choose to live in a rented apartment located near her workplace on weekdays. They transfer to their own home in Fengtai District every weekend.
"It would be too tiring to travel between two places every day and could even be a bit dangerous, given that I sometimes have a night shift," said Cheng, who works as a newspaper editor in the central business district.
Proximity to workplace ranks as the main concern among 40 percent of the renters in the city, according to the report. The average daily commute, which lasted 97 minutes in 2015 according to a study by Beijing Normal University, doesn't help either.
Renting an apartment also proves to be quite economical, as some homeowners rent out their own homes to make up for the money they spend renting another property.
