BEIJING, Aug. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix Tree
Holdings Limited ("Danke" or the "Company") (NYSE: DNK), one of the
largest co-living platforms in China with the fastest growth, has partnered
with People's Daily Online, the digital version of China's largest newspaper, and K618.cn, a
Chinese news portal dedicated to teens and children, to jointly
release a Blue Book on housing for China's record-large 2020 graduating college
class.
China's 8.74 million college
and higher education graduates are facing new challenges in
apartment rental due to COVID-19. For two years running Danke has
published a graduate housing Blue Book to provide guidance and
address rental issues for the younger generation. Danke teamed up
with the People's Daily Online and K618.cn to jointly release a
Blue Book on graduate housing to better understand their living
conditions including rental costs, apartment preferences, the
impact of COVID-19 and other new rental trends. The Blue Book is
based on an online survey of 2020 college and higher education
graduates and market data from Danke and other sources. The survey
was conducted on Danke's app at the beginning of July and 1,657
responses were collected.
According to the Blue Book, the COVID-19 pandemic lead to a less
concentrated graduate rental period. 2020 graduate rental demand
was fairly even from May to August, compared to last year's rental
demand which started in March and peaked in June. In terms of
graduate rental price preference, 81% of college graduates
preferred a monthly rent under RMB2,000, while 4% of respondents considered
monthly rent over RMB3,000. Nearly
90% of college graduates chose to rent with roommates to save on
costs, with over 70% of respondents preferring private rooms in a
shared apartment to maintain privacy. When asked about selecting
roommates, 28.7% of respondents chose to live with college
roommates or classmates, about 27.7% chose to live with romantic
partners and about 17.1% chose to live with friends. In 2019,
romantic partner was the most preferred choice in terms of
selecting roommates, followed by friends and college roommates or
classmates. Due to financial pressure, graduates preferred to pay
rent monthly, as opposed to the more standard quarterly rental
payment schedule.
This year's graduates had a higher expectation of living
conditions as they were seeking apartments during the COVID-19
pandemic. A significant portion of respondents (64.6%) said that
regularly disinfecting common spaces was essential to keep a safe
and hygienic living environment. With more people working and
exercising at home, some new renters felt living conditions fell
short of expectations. When asked about areas of dissatisfaction
with their current apartment, about 44.5% of respondents complained
about insufficient storage space, about 36.7% said their apartment
balcony was too small, and about 30.9% said that their apartment
did not provide a quiet environment for working at home.
To help residents stay healthy and enjoy a hassle-free living
experience during the pandemic, Danke provided a variety of
services, including regularly cleaning common spaces, repair and
maintenance, Wi-Fi, and a 24/7 resident hotline. Besides
disinfecting and cleaning common spaces, Danke's service team
assisted over 3,500 residents moving in, and also helped apply for
more than 80,000 neighborhood entry passes during the pandemic.
According to the graduate survey, first-tier cities including
Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and emerging first-tier cities such
as Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, Tianjin and Suzhou were the most
preferred destinations to work and live. With decreased travel due
to COVID-19, graduates turned to rental apps and websites for their
primary sources for housing information, followed by classmate or
friend recommendations, and search engines and social media
platforms. Rental platforms not only provided online photos and
videos, but also online livestreaming tours and virtual tours of
available apartments on their apps, allowing users to find
accommodations without physically visiting the place, which was
applauded by college graduates during the pandemic.
According to the Blue Book, the most significant factors when
this year's graduates selected apartments were price, location and
apartment condition, same as last year. Location close to amenities
was also a key driver in apartment selection with more than half of
respondents preferring apartments close to malls, grocery stores,
cinemas and gyms. In the Blue Book of 2019, apartments in urban
city areas were the most popular choices among graduates. In 2019,
apartment proximity to a subway station was the most preferred
nearby amenity. In terms of services provided by rental platforms,
about 81.02% of respondents preferred to have regular cleaning
services, followed by repair and maintenance services, building
superintendent services, and delivery pick-up services.
As college graduates increasingly choose to live in shared
apartments, safety has become the biggest concern, especially when
living with roommates of the opposite gender. More than half of the
respondents agreed to set rules to ensure boundaries with
opposite-gender roommates. In addition, about 89.76% of respondents
thought it was necessary to have a written roommate agreement to
establish a comfortable and harmonious living
environment.
This year is the second consecutive year for Danke to jointly
release the College Graduates Housing Blue Book with People's Daily
Online and K618.cn. "As a leading co-living platform in
China, Danke is investing a
significant amount of resources to help college graduates find
affordable apartments and ease pressure in seeking employment every
year," said Guangjing He, vice president of Danke. "Going forward,
Danke will continue serving college graduates through platform
resources and technology innovation."
The press conference for the release of the 2020 College
Graduate Housing Blue Book was held in Beijing on August 12,
2020. Cross-industry experts from People's Daily Online,
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Society of Economic
Forum, K618.cn, Beijing Real Estate Agency Association and other
organizations attended to celebrate the release and shared their
views on the topic.
ABOUT DANKE
Danke, one of the largest co-living platforms in China with the fastest growth, is redefining
the residential rental market through technology and aims to help
people live better. Empowered by data, technology, and a
large-scale apartment network, Danke's vibrant and expanding
ecosystem connects and benefits property owners, residents, and
third-party service providers, and delivers quality and
best-in-class services through an innovative "new rental" business
model featuring centralization, standardization, and a seamless
online experience. Danke was founded in 2015 and is headquartered
in Beijing, China. For more
information, please visit ir.danke.com.
CONTACTS
Danke PR
Email: pr@danke.com
Edmond Lococo
ICR, Inc.
Email: DankePR@icrinc.com
Phone: +86 138-1079-1408
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SOURCE Phoenix Tree Holdings Limited
