Beijing Rents Fall, Subway Hikes Blamed

Beijing switched from a 2 yuan flat price for subway rides to a system based on distance. The result is much higher prices than before:

Near Tongzhou orchard subway station, Xiao Li told ChinaNews only 84 yuan per month to work on the subway ride before, after subway prices were raised this soared to 252 yuan, the cost of commuting traffic is 3 times higher.

Some analysts expected rising subway prices to affect rents, but the reality is the change didn't affect rental rates. Instead, rents fell in eastern part of the city center. Rents did fall in the commuter district of Tongzhou, as well as the southern districts of Daxing and Fengtai.

The most likely cause of falling rents is falling home prices. Chaoyang is the most developed district and Haidian is filled with universities and good middle schools.

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