Japanese media: China has vigorously strengthened the fairness of educational opportunities, and housing prices around famous schools have plummeted

Source: Global Times

Japan's Nikkei Asia Review Article, October 28, Original Title: China's Education Reform Triggers a Sharp Drop in Housing Prices Subtitle: Expanded School Districts Lower Housing Prices Near Elite Schools With China's aggressive offensive to strengthen the fairness of educational opportunities, it has had an unexpected impact: in Shenzhen and other major cities in China, housing prices around some elite schools have plummeted.

In Shenzhen's Baihua area, high-rise residential buildings near well-known primary and secondary schools are lined up. Children living in the precinct can attend the famous Shenzhen Experimental School, where many students can be admitted to some of China's most renowned universities. In order to get their children into good schools, many Chinese families buy school district homes. In a country that places an extreme emphasis on education, this has led to a spike in housing prices in specific areas. Many houses in the Baihua area are typical of this situation.

As the central government injected a lot of liquidity into the economy affected by the epidemic, investors poured into the housing market, pushing house prices to jaw-dropping highs. In January, a house in the precinct sold for more than 300,000 yuan per square meter.

However, today, house prices near prestigious schools have begun to fall. An employee of a real estate agency in the precinct said: "This year we have seen house prices fall by 30% and are likely to fall further. "The sharp decline in housing prices in local school districts has aroused widespread concern. There are reports that the price of some houses has plummeted by 4 million to 5 million yuan.

Beijing's (education) reforms have punctured the housing bubble around popular schools, and this slump in housing prices has made school district housing meaningless. At the same time, the Chinese government has stepped up efforts to rectify real estate speculation. After the Politburo of the Cpc Central Committee held a meeting in April and first proposed to "prevent speculation on house prices in the name of school district housing", the price of school district housing, which was regarded as only rising and not falling, began to reduce prices. Today, China's latest school district reform measures may finally curb rampant speculation.

The City of Beijing has announced plans to relax school district regulations so that children in the wider region can attend the schools in question. From March to September, house prices around Zhongguancun No. 3 Primary School, a famous school in Beijing's Haidian District, fell by 10%. Another potential blow to the school district housing bubble could come from a new policy: a large rotation of teachers and principals in primary and secondary schools in Beijing. The goal is to allow good teachers and educators to move throughout the system.

An employee of a real estate agency in Beijing's Xicheng District said: "During this period of time (business) has been sluggish. People are waiting to see how the new policy will affect the market. "There are many famous schools in the district, so there are many houses in the school district. But now, the uncertainty associated with the new education policy is deterring speculators. (Written by Iori Kawate and translated by Cui Xiaodong)