House Prices and Household Saving Rate : Evidence from China

In the last decade, China's house prices have skyrocketed along with its continually rising household saving rate. Can rising house prices be an important contributor to the increase in household saving rate? Using data from an urban household survey in China, we find that, on average, local house prices do not significantly change household saving rate, regardless of whether housing expenditure is classified as current consumption. When house prices increase, however, households with single male adults, house renters, and owners of homes with below-average value show a significant increase in saving rate. By contrast, households with single female adults and owners of homes with above-average value do not show changes in saving rate