Analysis: Property Crisis Pushes Major Cities to Make It Easier to Get Local Residency
Listen to the full version
Some of China’s major cities have become the latest to make it easier for migrants to acquire local residency, driven by multiple pressures including stagnant population growth, slumping consumption and the country’s property crisis.
Since the start of this year, at least eight cities with over 5 million long-term residents — mostly in the economic powerhouses of the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta — have lowered residency thresholds. Many of them have also joined the nationwide trend of lifting local homebuying curbs, which were introduced to cool China’s then-booming property market. The phrase “long-term resident” includes both those with local residency and those who’ve lived in the city for over six months.
Unlock exclusive discounts with a Caixin group subscription — ideal for teams and organizations.
Subscribe to both Caixin Global and The Wall Street Journal — for the price of one.
- RELATED
- DIGEST HUB
Digest Hub
Back
- Major cities in China have lowered residency thresholds and lifted home purchase restrictions to address stagnant population growth and economic issues.
- Suzhou, Nanjing, and Hangzhou allow property owners to obtain residency, and Dongguan relaxed residency requirements for long-term workers and recent graduates.
- Household registrations, linked to access to social services, have been a barrier for non-local residents who contribute to local economies. Recent moves continue reforms started in 2014 to ease these restrictions.
- Alibaba
- Alibaba is mentioned as being based in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province. The article notes that Hangzhou, home to Alibaba, has introduced measures allowing property owners to obtain local residency.
- 2021：
- Over 490 million people in China — over one-third of the total population — did not have local residency where they lived, according to the seventh national population census.
- Since the start of 2023：
- Nanjing's resident population was just over 9.5 million, and the city announced the goal of striving to have 10 million long-term residents by 2025.
- Late April 2024：
- Dongguan announced it would allow people who have worked and lived in the city for one year to apply for residency, while any graduates with full-time college degrees can do so within five years of graduation.
- May 2024：
- Nanjing and Hangzhou said that people who own property can obtain residency.
- 2024-06-02：
- Suzhou announced that anyone who owns residential property in the city can apply for local residency and dropped all home purchase restrictions.
- PODCAST
- MOST POPULAR
Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook
Sign in with 财新