First public-rental housing district under construction

Watch Video

Play Video

Beijing's first public-rental housing district is expected to complete construction within four years. Public-rental housing is a new kind of guaranteed housing policy to help low-income families who cannot afford commercial housing.

Beijing's first public-rental housing district will be constructed 20 minutes from Beijing's Xi Erqi subway station. The district is surrounded by supermarkets, drug-stores, hotels, and public transport.

One local resident said "I think it's very convenient here."

There are six complexes in the district with an inhabitants scale of more than 7-thousand homes. Observers are optimistic.

Zhang Tao, Manager of Xi'erqi Branch, Homelink Property said "I think after two to three years of construction, the development will improve Xi Erqi district."

The land is close to a high-tech zone, where a new silicon-valley project is under construction. Baidu will move to this area in October, and the surrounding environment will be upgraded further.

As many people worry about the leasing market in this area, insiders say public-rental housing is a good for middle and low-income families. But its influence on the leasing market is limited.

Zhang Tao said "The public-rental housing probably has little impact on rental businesses here, they are new properties after all. But, the influence is small."

Insiders say this is the difference between public-rental housing and ordinary leasing. Public-rental housing mainly helps middle and low-income families. For example, a university graduate, who can't afford a home and is not qualified for low-rental housing, is allowed to apply for public-rental housing. While, the ordinary leasing market in this area mainly services white-collar workers in the high-tech zone. So, the public-rental housing market won't influence the ordinary leasing market too much. Currently, demand exceeds the supply in the leasing market in this area.