The heterogeneity of housing-tenure choice in urban China: A case study based in Guangzhou

Abstract

This paper investigates the heterogeneity of housing-tenure choice in the city of Guangzhou based on a household survey. Using methods of finite mixture regression, we identified three groups with distinct housing-tenure choice subprocesses, which we labelled as the ‘urban elites’, the ‘native plebeians’ and the ‘lower masses’, accordingly. The urban elites group includes affluent local urban residents, migrants from other cities and privileged citizens such as state employees and Communist Party members. Housing-tenure choice among the urban elites positively correlates with marital status, age and education. The native plebeians group is comprised of less affluent local residents, including those with rural Hukou status. They have the highest homeownership rate among the three groups and their housing-tenure choice positively correlates with household size and income. The majority of the lower masses are migrants from rural areas. They are mostly renters, although household size was found to be a significant predictor of homeownership. Institutional factors such as Hukou status, Party membership and state employment affect tenure outcomes for both the urban elites and the lower masses, but not for the native plebeians. These findings show the correspondence between housing-tenure choice subprocesses and socioeconomic differentiation, and suggest a need to create housing policies tailored for specific housing groups.