(Yicai Global) Aug. 18 -- Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei province, has become a strong draw for fresh college graduates thanks to affordable home rentals and local government policies.

A total of 345,200 university graduates chose to remain in Wuhan last year, up by 14.3 percent from 2020, Li Guozheng, director of the Central China Market Research Center of the China Index Academy, told Yicai Global.

“Many properties are available for rent in Wuhan at favorable prices, so youngsters’ accommodation costs are lower if they intend to start a business or find a job there,” Li said. “This has helped the city draw a net inflow of young talent over the past four years.”

He also told Yicai Global that the yearly average number of young people that come to Wuhan reached about 300,000 over the last decade and a total of 1.73 million young folk have chosen to stay in the city over the past five years. 

The number of graduates choosing to stay on for their career development has risen by 10 percent for three straight years, making Wuhan the most successful among nine cities polled, according to a recent report by realtor Ziroom. Some 87 percent of Wuhan’s college graduates choose to stay in the city to pursue their career. 

Rents in Wuhan are notably cheaper that in China’s first-tier cities. The monthly average for a single person sharing with others is about CNY1,000 (USD147.30), while those renting an entire property for themselves pay around CNY3,000 a month. 

This is partly because housing supply in Wuhan exceeds demand. Landlord Li Yumei told Yicai Global that her tenant has not changed in the last three years, and she has not raised the rent in that time. Retaining tenants is better than higher rental income as it is a buyer’s market in Wuhan, Li said. 

Wang Xinshu, who is studying at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, told Yicai Global that renting an apartment unit near the universities in Wuhan is much easier this year than last year, adding that “more choices of high-quality housing are available and the landlords have not raised the rents.”

Another factor behind the affordable rents in Wuhan is the local government’s measures to provide affordable housing for young people.

The city plans to build over 2.5 million square meters of affordable housing targeting university graduates in the next five years, with 1.65 million sqm for rent and a per-person living area of about 20 sqm. Graduates looking to rent will be offered a 20 percent discount to the standard market price.

To attract talent, the local government has also offered broader preferential policies such as further rental discounts and even exemptions for a certain period for those with doctoral and masters degrees.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Tom Litting