Mar
23
China’s Big-City Homeowners in Austerity Mode Are Weighing on Retail
By-
Big mortgages, big down payments zap spending in big cities
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Beijing service sector corporate profits tumbled 11% in 2016
Last December, Li Qinglei and his wife purchased a 114-square-meter home in western Beijing by taking out a 5.5 million yuan ($800,000) home loan and borrowing more than 1 million yuan from family and friends.
Then, they shifted into full-on austerity mode.
Travel plans have been put on ice and eating out, even at inexpensive restaurants, is now a rare luxury. “In the past, we took cabs a lot. Now, we are more likely to take a bus or a bike just to save money,” said Li, a 34-year-old bank manager. “One night, my wife was cleaning up the wardrobe, grumbling that she hasn’t had any new clothes, and then she said, ‘That’s OK, we must watch the money closely.’”
China’s Big-City Homeowners in Austerity Mode Are Weighing on Retail
