Renting while owning is preference of many

Residential buildings. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Seven million people in Beijing－about a third of the population, or the equivalent of Hong Kong－rented their homes last year, a recent report said.

Half the renters are under 30, while 17 percent are over 41, according to the report, which was released by Dingding Rent, an online rental service run by the city's leading housing agent company, Lianjia.

Those with a Beijing hukou, or household registration, account for 18 percent of the renters.

Some of the renters have their own property in Beijing but choose to live in the rented places for various reasons, including proximity to a school for a child, saving commuting time to the workplace or for economic reasons, it said.

Last year, Liu Peng, who owns an apartment near the Fifth Ring Road, rented a two-bedroom apartment in Dongzhimen because his daughter started studying nearby at the prestigious Shijia Primary School.

They live in the rented place on workdays, which costs them 7,500 yuan per month ($1,094), and spend the weekend in their own apartment.

"It does give us some economic pressure, but it is worthwhile because she can walk to school in three minutes," Liu said.

Cheng Chen and her husband also live in a rented apartment next to her workplace in the central business district and spend weekends in their own home in Fengtai district. It takes an hour and a half one-way by public transportation from their own apartment to her workplace and perhaps even longer if driving during rush hour.

"It would be too tiring to travel between the two places every day and could even be a bit dangerous, given that I sometimes have a night shift," said Cheng, a newspaper editor.

A home's distance from the workplace is the chief concern of 40 percent of the renters in Beijing, the report said.

According to a study by Beijing Normal University, the average daily commute for residents in Beijing in 2015 lasted 97 minutes, the longest in the country.

Other than saving time, saving money is also why many choose to live in a rented apartment.

Li Le bought an apartment in 2012 and makes a monthly mortgage payment of 7,000 yuan.

Instead of living there, he rents it out, charging 5,500 per month, and spends 2,500 yuan a month for a rented two-bedroom apartment he shares with a colleague.

With the pay he earns every month as a public employee, it is difficult for him to pay the mortgage, Li said.

"But I couldn't wait, because salary increases can't keep up with the rise in housing prices. I think I made the right choice."