i heard the price of housing increase a lot recently. is it still interesting to rent house or better to buy? do you have any information about that in kunming?

iwant rent

If you are planning to make Kunming your second home then BUY. The prices are only going to go up as Kunming is becoming more international.

Like other cities in China, Kunming's housing market has been overinflated and manipulated due to rampant speculation, among other things.

Wait for the bubble to pop and buy then. There's no sense in buying now as prices per square meter, even in less desirable parts of the city, are reaching ridiculous proportions. And we all thought it was ludicrous to spend 10,000 RMB per square meter at Shun Cheng Jie years ago when those nice apartments went up.

I guess it depends on how long you are willing for the 'bubble' to burst. The rents are going ridiculously up too. What use to be 600 RMB for a 30 sq. ft. apartment is now 950-1000. If you already now you are staying put here, then buy something decent even if it's second-hand. Just my 2 cents.

I'm a Chinese. I rent instead of buying. I have a friend who is a poperty agent, She was also renting instead of buying.

as already mentioned the housing is overinflated. and there's one thing you may neglected but which is very important: you would only have the property rights for only 70 years. (including the construction period. so what you going to have is about 68 years around). that means you only have the property for 70 years/ unlikely to pass to your grandkids. what will happen after 70 years the government did not give any explicite interpretation.

I guess the owners should pay a sum to renew their property rights. but its even risky for foreigners to buy a house. (for comercial buildings if you can make enough money in 20/30 years that's another issue). I don't know what a large population China would have at that time. maybe foreigners ownership will terminate and not eligible to renew. things may change favourably if we could have some other party on the stage. but who knows.

some time I realy came up with an idea to initiate a 3-years term "no purchase" compain in the huge ordinary Chinese. if we realy do. the irational price would go down. I wish.

yeah, john is right. 70 year lease hold is one consideration. there are other issues are just as important. the quality of construction, the quality and openness of strata management, sinking fund management...etc will affect the value in the long run.
i can tell you, some shenzhen properties are falling apart in 25 years, problems like sinking foundation, leaking water pipes, drainage, damp external wall, failing escalator,lack of annun inspection of lifts........etc, making a 70 year lease hold a lesser concern for property owners.
in short, i will only buy a property to live in and keep it for a maximum 10 years and trade it for a new one from time to time.

@liumingke1234, 30sq ft? That's not even big enough for a bed! Either you meant 30 sq m or are trying to talk about the price per sq ft or sq m; in any case, your point is that prices have gone up considerably, and that shouldn't come as a surprise in a booming city like Kunming.

I would buy now. I own 2 properties and don't regret it for a minute. This "bubble" is not going to burst. Don't equate real estate in China like in the western world. It works differently. You will see higher prices continue, especially in Kunming due to the future role Kunming will play in China. More and more restrictions on buying will make it impossible for you to buy later if you are a foreigner. Who cares about the 70 year rule? In that time you will most likely be dead anyhow.

@bucko You are so right!