Beijing Apartment Rentals Still Suffering From COVID-19

原创 Drew Pittock theBeijinger

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CCTV Finance reported last week that rental rates across Beijing plunged by nearly 20 percent in June, with Daxing and Fengtai districts – the two epicenters of the city’s recent COVID-19 flare-up – experiencing the most precipitous drops in demand at 41.7 percent and 37.1 percent, respectively.

Moreover, between Jun 15-21, the rental market’s total volume dipped more than a third, and average rental prices saw a 15 percent reduction, according to statistics from rental company Lianjia and cited by Global Times. To put that in perspective, the average rental price for a three-bedroom apartment in Chaoyang District has fallen nearly RMB 2,000 per month, while two-bedroom units have been slashed by about RMB 1,000.

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Traditionally, June and July are a boon to the rental industry, as roughly 8.74 million students graduate from college and seek housing off-campus. While some insiders are still banking on this annual influx to help the market rebound, others are more skeptical given that many graduates haven’t even returned to the city due to myriad travel restrictions, moratoriums on returning to campuses, and a lack of job prospects.

Over the past few months, it’s been difficult not only for landlords and property owners to find tenants, but also for tenants to make rent as the pandemic led to labor shortages, layoffs and reduced salaries. Some landlords responded in kind by lowering rents up to 20 percent, however, not everyone was so lucky and some tenants were simply required to end their contract or default on their payments.

Even still, since the Spring Festival holiday – when it became increasingly clear that the coronavirus was going to disrupt every facet of life – landlords have seen an average two-month wait time between listing and leasing their properties, a significantly longer gap than this time last year.