China to boost rental housing supply by allowing construction in rural land

[BEIJING] China will launch pilot programs in 13 major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, to build rental housing in rural land, the land ministry said on Monday.

The programs are part of broad efforts to ease a housing supply shortage, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

As soaring property prices have made housing affordability a growing problem for policy makers, Chinese officials have been pushing for more initiatives to increase supply in the hottest markets, even though their effectiveness still remains to be seen.

REUTERS