Guangzhou is China’s most liveable city, survey finds
Southern provincial capital has ideal mix of affordable housing and competitiveness, according to report by UN and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Hebe Guo, a 30-year-old PR manager, and her husband, a financial manager in a state-run bank, are moving from Shenzhen to Guangzhou, because of the gap in residential property prices in the two Chinese first-tier cities. Property in Shenzhen is much more expensive even though Guangzhou is already among the world’s priciest housing markets.
With the average price for a new flat at less than 20,000 yuan (US$3,007) per square metre – about two-fifths of that in Beijing and Shenzhen – Guangzhou is the most liveable and affordable city among the country’s four first-tier metropolis for most young, middle-class couples in China, Guo said.
“A typical three-bedroom new home in the suburbs of Shenzhen now costs at least 5 million yuan. But I can buy a similar one in Guangzhou’s subdistricts for less than 3 million yuan,” she said. “We will have a better life, living with our parents and starting our two-child plan.
“In Shenzhen and Beijing, it would be just a dream forever.”
Guo’s views are backed by the Global Urban Competitiveness Report 2017-2018, released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the United Nations. It lists Guangzhou as one of the best places to live in on the mainland, as it shows a virtuous cycle between housing affordability and competitiveness, which by attracting more immigrants to the region, drives up the total population and brings good growth in residential consumption.
According to the report, Guangzhou, which ranked 15th on the economic competitiveness index for 2017, reported a GDP of US$290 billion last year, on par with Israel’s, and an average per capita GDP of US$20,000.
