Rising costs makes home ownership elusive for some

World Today

An existing home for sale in Roswell, Ga. After nine straight weeks of increases, long-term US mortgage rates fell the week of Jan. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Owning a home has increasingly become a distant dream, and it all comes down to cost.

CGTN’s Nathan King reports.

According to user data collected over the last year, property in New York is still slightly more expensive per square meter than Beijing—over $13,000 versus $11,000.

But in Beijing, it’s much more costly to buy a home – prices are 33 times average annual earnings. In comparison, in New York, it is 13 times more than average annual earnings.

And when it comes to the cost of a Mortgage- Beijing annual mortgage payments cost over 250% of the average annual salary, putting home ownership out of the reach of many without heavy borrowing.

Interest rates in China are about a percentage point higher than the U.S., which means that Chinese homeowners pay more for their houses over time than Americans. However, there is silver lining for Chinese homeowners—prices have been rising rapidly creating huge wealth on paper. But, prices fluctuate—especially if price curbing measures start having an effect.