Post-90s graduates might be 1st generation to not buy houses   

社科院报告称90后大学毕业生将成“不买房一代”

(ECNS) -- College graduates born after 1990 may well become a generation of non-home owners, according to survey results taken from the Blue Book of China's Society: Analysis and Forecast on China's Social Development.

Some 4,110 students from 12 universities and colleges were interviewed during the study, released by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, including 2,730 current students and 1,380 graduates.

The survey showed that about 20 percent of post-90s college students continued to live with their relatives or friends one year after graduation.

Less than 5 percent stayed in their own or their spouses' homes, while over 70 percent lived in dormitories provided by their employers or rented apartments.

About 30 percent of post-90s college graduates occupied an area of less than 20 square meters one year after graduation.

Though owning their own homes is still a priority, only one third of students said they would lower their living standards to buy a house.

Over 55 percent said they would choose not to buy a house to avoid the heavy financial burden of a mortgage.

More than 50 percent of those surveyed said that buying a house is the best way to gain value for their money. But when given a sufficient amount of cash for a down payment, over one half said they would choose to start their own businesses, or do other things that would give them a higher sense of accomplishment, rather than buy a house.

Many post-90s college graduates believe that owning a house is necessary before getting married and having children, but they also wanted to improve their quality of life, and live unrestrained, rather than become slaves to a mortgage, said Tian Feng, deputy director of the Youth Studies and Social Problem Section at the Institute of Sociology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Tian pointed out that post-90s college graduates might well be the first generation to not buy houses.