Rental Prices Jump as Demand Grows

Greater demand pushes rent prices higher in the first-tier cities of China after the Spring Festival, the Nanfang Daily reports.

Rent for apartments, stores and office buildings in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou all jumped by around 10 percent in mid-February, the report says.

People's inflation expectations and increasing numbers of migrant workers may have contributed to the recent rise in rental prices.

Besides, some would-be property buyers chose to be tenants due to the unstable real estate market in the country, which also drives up the rental market.

In Guangzhou, the leasing business was four-fold more than that of house purchases recently, according to local real estate agencies quoted in the report.

Meanwhile, the growth of the rental market in Shanghai has drawn much attention as leasing deals climb from 40 percent before festival to 70 percent of the total real estate business.

"Leasing in Shanghai usually accounts for 70 percent of the business during a property market downturn, and 40 percent when the market is hot," said Luo Yanshen, a local market analyst.

The rental market will continue to be active as demand rises in the following three to four months, he added.