July, graduation season, is upon us. It is said that this year is the hardest yet for job hunting for newly graduated students. Graduates are facing great pressure in terms of not only the employment market but also looking for apartments to rent. Li Dong has the details.

 

　　Yan Han, a masters student majoring in English translation made a quick decision to rent a duplex apartment. She says that as long as there is a suitable apartment, she will seize the opportunity immediately.

 

　　"I rented the apartment with one of my classmates. We split the rent. We hope to find a place with a montly rent of 2,000 yuan each. We are lucky. The apartment we are renting is not downtown but the room is big. Considering the decoration and the basic home appliances, we accepted the rate of 2,100 yuan a month each."

 

　　Sharing an apartment is usually the most viable option for most students who have just graduated from the university, given their limited income.

 

　　Not all newly graduated students can easily find an apartment with ideal rent and location, not to mention a compatible roommate. Another new graduate in Hangzhou city says she needs to be more realistic, considering her financial status.

 

　　"The reason why I chose this apartment is because I can pay the rent month by month. Many landlords require the rent must be paid 3 months, half a year or even a year in advance. I really I can't afford it."

 

　　According to the Ministry of Education, a record 6.99 million students graduated from colleges across China this year, an increase of 2.8 percent from 2012.

 

　　Yan Han says she feels enormous pressure this year from all aspects of her life.

 

　　"I felt great pressure, especially in the first half of June. I need to consider many things, graduation, looking for jobs, apartments, many decisions to make. There are so many uncertainties. This is the most difficult year in my life. But I made it."

 

　　Zhou Baojun, manager of a real estate intermediate company in Hangzhou says the graduation season boosted the apartment renting market.

 

　　"The transaction volume in our company rose by 100 percent compared to previous months. It's hard to even find an apartment downtown. Many students are shifting their focus to comparatively isolated places but with convenient transportation like subways."

 

　　Zhou Baojun estimates that the property renting market will maintain a hot trend til at least the end of July, which marks the end of the of the graduation season.

 

　　According to statistics from National Bureau of Statistics or NBS, in June this year, rent rose by 3.7 percent nationwide compare to the same period last year. Figures also show that in major cities like Beijing, rent rose by 7.4 percent on a year-on-year basis, with 0.5 percent rise on a month-on-month basis.

 

　　Figures from NBS also show that rent level in the country has been rising for 42 consecutive months since 2010. The ever increasing rent has left the newly graduate students no choice but rent the apartment with others.

 

　　For CRI, I am Li Dong.