Nowadays, housing prices have been high in various places. In April 2024, the average price of new residential buildings in Baicheng is 16,355 yuan per square meter. This means that buying a 90-square-meter house in these cities will cost at least 1.5 million to 2 million, which makes many residents sigh for a house. However, four things that are more worrying than "unaffordable" housing are already happening in cities, and the harm is greater than the current high housing prices. Let's find out:
First, high housing prices have led to an increase in the cost of living
As house prices continue to rise everywhere, rent prices follow suit. In second-tier cities, for example, renting a two-bedroom house more than 10 years ago cost only 1,800 yuan, but now the rent is at least 3,000 yuan. At the same time, the income of migrant workers has not increased significantly, and most of them have a monthly income of 4-6,000 yuan. As a result, the cost of living for migrant workers has risen sharply.
As a result, many migrant workers feel that the cost of living in big cities is too great, so they can only choose to make a living elsewhere. If high housing prices are said to have little impact on many migrant workers who rent houses. As the cost of living rises due to high rents, migrant workers have no choice but to leave the big cities. In fact, if cities want to develop, they need a lot of human resources, otherwise they will be greatly affected. So, the loss of population in many cities is really worrying.
Second, it's getting harder and harder to do business
Now many brick-and-mortar store owners are complaining that business is becoming more and more difficult to do, mainly because e-commerce has stolen a large part of the business. The reason why brick-and-mortar stores can't compete with e-commerce is that shop rents are getting more expensive, which will inevitably push up the price of goods. And because e-commerce does not have the cost of renting a store, it can beat physical stores with a price advantage.
In fact, the difficulty of doing business in physical stores will affect the enthusiasm of entrepreneurs, and everyone will not dare to invest in entrepreneurship, which will eventually lead to a decline in the number of investment entrepreneurs and a gradual decrease in the number of job opportunities available in society. This will not only affect the employment situation, but also have a profound impact on the local economic development.
Third, the appearance of unfinished buildings is very harmful
Against the backdrop of high housing prices, many families have exhausted all their savings, owed decades of bank loans, and barely managed to buy a house. Starting in 2023, large developers such as Evergrande and Country Garden will have unfinished buildings, which is far more harmful than high housing prices.
Because, once the situation of unfinished buildings occurs frequently, it will cause buyers to suffer heavy losses, which will affect people's confidence in the property market. And once everyone loses confidence in the property market, it will lead to a long-term downturn in the real estate market. If you want to regain your confidence, you need a longer cycle.
Fourth, the number of births in various cities has declined
It's not scary to not be able to afford a house, locals can huddle with their parents, and migrant workers can choose to share a house. However, the decline in the number of births in various places brought about by high housing prices is worrying. Some obstetricians in Shanghai said before: In the past, obstetrics was hard to find, but now it is a lot of doors!
This is mainly due to the high housing prices in various cities, many young people cannot afford to buy a house, cannot afford to get married, and naturally cannot have children. If the number of births in large cities drops significantly, it will lead to a serious imbalance in the age structure of the local population, and even enter a deep aging society. If this happens, it is far more worrying than high house prices.
Four things that are more worrying than "unaffordable" housing have appeared in various cities. And these are the "sequelae" brought about by high housing prices. The reason why I think that the above 4 things are more worrying than high housing prices. The main reason is that these four events will have a long-term and far-reaching impact on the society and economy of the country. It is hoped that all sectors of society will attach great importance to it and take various countermeasures to eliminate these hidden dangers.