Housing tenure and type choices of urban migrants in China

The rapid growth in the number of urban migrants in China has brought about a lack of housing for migrants. The housing preferences and factors influencing those for urban migrants in China are examined using data from the China Migrant Dynamic Survey (CMDS) conducted in 2017. This study demonstrates that urban migrants in China typically rent their homes and that factors such as household life cycle, education, hukou type, occupation, range and duration of movement, and social integration have a major impact on these decisions. Large households, high levels of education, accompanying family migration, marriage, non-agricultural hukou, employment in state-owned enterprises, and high levels of societal integration with local society all increase the likelihood that migrants will purchase houses. Migration-related housing decisions are significantly influenced by regional disparities in economic growth. Because housing is more expensive in the economically developed eastern areas than in the central and western regions, migrants there are less likely to be able to buy a home. To preserve the rights of migrants, local governments should progressively change their housing policies, and housing developers should pay closer attention to the trends and preferences of migrants in terms of housing choice.