Owned a House in an Urban Destination or Made Housing Investments in the Hometown? Determinants of Rural Migrants’ Housing Attainments in China

Abstract

Purchasing a house in origin cities or towns has become a new trend in housing trajectories for rural migrants in China, whereas previous studies focus mainly on determinants of housing tenure for rural migrants in urban destinations. Using a recent national survey called the National Migrants Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey (NMPDMS), the present study applies a recursive multivariate probit model to explore the determinants of migrants’ housing trajectories in the nexus of quasitransnationalism and integration. The results indicate that ties to urban destinations and ties to the hometown have a significant effect on housing attainments between urban destinations and the hometown. Rural migrants with closer ties to urban destinations and weaker ties to the hometown are more likely to be homeowners in the urban destinations. Conversely, they are more prone to make housing investments in the hometown. Both hometown housing activities of having bought a house in the origin city or town and having rebuilt a house in the origin village have significantly negative effects on homeownership in urban destinations, and the housing activity of having rebuilt a house in the origin village also has a significant negative effect on housing purchase in the origin city or town.