After over a year of administrative restrictions on property purchases and mortgage lending, Beijing is looking to the home rental market to cool prices by drawing demand away from property speculation. Although land has been allocated for rental housing construction by 2020 in many cities, the plan is unlikely to change construction activity counter-cyclically, given the slowdown in credit growth. China’s rental market still confronts key challenges in the form of affordability, consumer preferences, and conflicts in official incentives.
