The year-on-year increase reached 15.89%, "leading the rise" of domestic second-tier cities

Why is Xiamen's rents "all the way up"

　　"My friend lives in Haicang, Xiamen. Last year, the rent was still 2,000 yuan per month, and this year it has risen to 3200 yuan." "I just graduated from university and still internship, the salary is not enough to pay the rent"... Recently, "Xiamen rents have risen too fast." "It has become a hot issue for Internet users on social platforms to complain.

　　Why is the rent here soaring in a short period of time?

Is it market volatility or is there another hidden story?

Will it continue to rise in the future?

Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter launched an investigation for this.

The rent-increasing tide of “moving by the wind”

　　"When I first arrived in Xiamen in 2008, the monthly rent for a one-bedroom "self-built house" was 180 yuan. At the beginning of this year, the rent was 260 yuan. It only increased by 80 yuan in 12 years. But in April this year, the house was transferred to After the'second landlord', the rent rose to 600 yuan.” In Xinyang Street, Haicang District, Xiamen, Mr. Zhu, a first-line industrial worker from a factory, described the recent increase in rents in Xiamen to reporters.

　　Mr. Zhu’s current monthly income is about 4,000 yuan. With the addition of utility bills, summer rent expenses can reach about 1,000 yuan, accounting for nearly one-fourth of his income, which is less than one-tenth of his income when he first arrived in Xiamen. It is indeed a lot more expensive than that.

　　"Now the'second landlord' is unwilling to sign a contract with me. It is a matter of one sentence whether the rent will rise or not." Similar to Mr. Zhu's situation, some tenants in Xiamen also reported to reporters that "the'second landlord' is unwilling to sign a contract with me. "Contract" situation.

　　Different from other cities, Xiamen is composed of two parts: "inside the island" and "outside the island." Siming and the lake on the island are the "old towns". Compared with the four parts of Haicang, Jimei, Xiang'an and Tong'an outside the island, District, social resources and population are more concentrated.

　　During an unannounced visit to Xiamen Island, the reporter found that the one-bedroom "self-built houses" that were easily rented at a price of more than 1,000 yuan a month in some areas last year also quietly increased to about 1,600 to 1,800 yuan.

　　The reporter's investigation also found that this round of residential rent increases in Xiamen is not limited to the low-end market.

Mr. Li from a housing agency in Xiamen said that due to the demolition of the Hecuo plot, the “Strait International Community” he represented ushered in a surge in rent this year. The rent for a one-bedroom apartment rose from around RMB 6,000 to around RMB 7,500 per month. .

In addition, the high-end communities "City Cube" and "Robinson Plaza" on Xiamen Island achieved year-on-year growth rates of 43.63% and 30.64% respectively in June. The rents of other high-end communities also increased rapidly at a rate "visible to the naked eye".

　　According to data from the China Real Estate Association, in June this year, Xiamen’s residential rental prices followed the "North, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou" and "led the rise" in domestic second-tier cities. The rent reached 53.46 yuan per square meter per month, a year-on-year increase of 15.89%. .

According to the statistics of the China Real Estate Association, in June this year, the driving force for the “leading increase” of residential rents in Xiamen was mainly from Xiamen Island. The top ten communities were all located in Siming District on Xiamen Island, with rents rising 7.08 year-on-year. % To 43.63%.

Why did the rent soar in a short period of time?

　　The reporter's investigation learned that the reason for this round of rent changes in Xiamen is not simply due to market fluctuations. Among them are the accelerated pace of "old reforms" and the imbalance between the supply and demand of rental housing, the lagging investment in policy-based rental housing by government departments, and the impact on industrial workers. Reasons for insufficient care of groups that are sensitive to changes in rents, such as flexible employees.

　　Large-scale "old reforms" have resulted in an imbalance between supply and demand, leaving room for speculation in the housing rental market.

The requisition documents of the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning show that since the second half of 2020, the above-ground houses on collective land over 1 million square meters have been developed in Xiamen Island’s lakeside reservoirs, lakeside areas, and Caitang communities. Old village reconstruction project.

The rural self-built houses on the above land parcels are rented by a large number of first-line industrial workers and flexible employment personnel. The large-scale “old reform” expropriation in a short period of time has caused the housing rental market to quickly become unbalanced.

　　"Some people use this as a business exclusively, renting the entire building, and renting it out at a higher price when the housing rental market is tight." The relevant person in charge of the Xiamen Municipal Housing Security and Housing Administration (hereinafter referred to as "Xiamen Housing Bureau") Said that the group of "second landlords" in the "family-style" whole-rental houses played a role in fueling the increase in rents and triggered a chain reaction such as the "one landlord" asking for price increases and surrounding rental housing prices.

　　Local governments have already predicted changes in the rental market, but the lack of key information in the rental market affects the efficiency of response.

“In August and September last year, we conducted research on the demolition of land on the island in conjunction with the public security department. We predicted the risk that the demolition might lead to a sharp increase in rents, and put forward suggestions on accelerating the provision of affordable rental housing and timely monitoring of market information.” Xiamen The relevant person in charge of the Municipal Housing Bureau stated that they had contacted relevant departments to intervene after the change in the rental market, but the other party said that they would provide relevant market subject information first.

In the filing system of the Housing Bureau, relevant information is basically missing.

　　Prior to this, the Xiamen Municipal Housing Bureau issued documents instructing natural persons who sublet more than 10 units (rooms) of housing in accordance with the guidance requirements of higher-level documents to handle market entity registration in accordance with the law.

However, due to the lack of compulsion, relevant business entities have little willingness to implement the above requirements.

Since April, under the leadership of the relevant departments of Xiamen City, the Housing Bureau has conducted collective interviews with the "second landlords" in key areas with multiple departments, and collected their housing and rental information.

　　The allocation of policy-based rental housing is “more monks and less porridge”, and insufficient care is given to groups such as industrial workers and flexible employees.

In May of this year, Xiamen City invested 1013 sets of rental housing for environmental sanitation workers, bus drivers, auxiliary police officers, urban management coordinators and other grassroots first-line public service personnel and newly employed undergraduate graduates. The rent was 30% off the market price.

"Our income is not more than these types of people. Why does the policy not take care of us?" Some first-line industrial workers and flexible employees believe that they are also very sensitive to changes in rents, but Xiamen City has no rental housing resources. It really benefits them, and the amount of investment cannot meet their actual needs.

Strictly crack down on malicious real estate speculation, driving away tenants, etc.

　　Recently, the relevant departments of Xiamen City have stepped up efforts to increase the supply of rental housing.

The "Implementation Plan for the Temporary Reconstruction of Existing Non-residential Houses in Xiamen City into Indemnificatory Rental Housing" released on July 1 proposes that non-residential buildings such as commercial, office, hotel, factory, storage, scientific research and education are allowed if relevant requirements are met. Class stock houses are converted into affordable rental housing, with a view to quickly alleviating the contradiction between supply and demand in the housing rental market in a short period of time.

　　In addition, the relevant person in charge of the Xiamen Municipal Housing Bureau said that in the future, it will increase the targeted and precise supply of housing. The key guarantees include "low- and middle-income employees in the manufacturing and urban service industries that cannot or should not be transferred outside the island in the near future". Class personnel.

　　At the same time, Xiamen City will also comprehensively use administrative, judicial, financial, credit, tax and other means to crack down on malicious real estate speculation, malicious push up of rents, drive away tenants, etc.; strengthen collusion, group price increases, etc. to disrupt leases The penalties for market order behaviors should guide landlords and “second landlords” to set prices reasonably.

　　In recent years, in addition to Xiamen, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other places have experienced short-term rent changes. On the basis of respecting the law of market supply and demand, how to take care of the vital interests of new urban residents as much as possible to test the city The governance wisdom of managers.

　　Gan Mantang, director of the Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Fuzhou University, believes that this round of rent increases in Xiamen reflects the excessive concentration of high-quality resources on the island, and the problem of large populations or settlements on the island.

The excessive concentration of resources in local areas of the city will form a "siphon effect" on the population, which will lead to the centralization and expansion of local problems and bring about a chain reaction.

He suggested that the problems accumulated over a long period of time need to be taken seriously by all localities, speed up and comprehensively implement policies, rationally evacuate development resources, and gradually achieve balanced urban development.

　　"The work of'old reform' is an important issue facing many cities at present. On the one hand, we must ensure the speed of work advancement, but also grasp the scale of advancement." Huang Huang, deputy dean of the School of Government and Management of Peking University, believes that housing rents are rising and other issues. It reflects that the new citizens in the city lack the right to speak in policy making, which requires city managers to make risk assessments before making public policies.

"It is necessary to establish a rational and diverse dialogue mechanism, especially a dialogue channel connecting the urban disadvantaged groups, so that more social subjects can participate in grassroots governance." Huang Huang said.