Housing Trends in China and India
Patrick D’Arcy and Alexandra Veroude*
Residential construction has made an important contribution to China’s economic growthover recent decades. Given China’s large population and the extensive use of steel in its urban
residential development, this investment has also been an important driver of growing demandfor Australia’s exports of iron ore and coking coal. India’s population is of a comparable size tothat of China. However, despite its faster population growth, India’s slower pace of urbanisationand less intensive use of steel in its housing construction has meant that housing activity in India
has not been a major source of demand for iron ore and coal. This article explores the trends inthe main factors that influence the amount and nature of investment in housing in China andIndia, and assesses the long-term outlook for residential construction in these two economies.

Introduction
A key part of the development process in emerging
economies is growth in residential investment,
which typically makes up a significant share ofinvestment and is a major contributor to improved
living standards. A range of factors influence
the pace of growth in residential investment, inparticular population growth, income growth andpatterns of urbanisation. Further, depending on
the type of construction undertaken, investment inresidential housing may be resource intensive, withhigh-density and high-rise residential developmentsin particular requiring significant inputs of concreteand steel. As such, trends in residential investment
in large emerging economies can influence global
markets for iron ore and coking coal, Australia’s twolargest resource exports.
As discussed in Berkelmans and Wang (2012),
residential construction associated with rapid
urbanisation has been an important source ofeconomic growth in China, with the share ofdwelling investment in GDP estimated to haveincreased steadily over the past decade. In contrast,
urbanisation in India has proceeded at a slower* The authors are from Economic Group.

pace, with a range of factors – including planningdifficulties and slower income growth – constraining
residential investment and discouraging investment
in large, steel-intensive housing developments inparticular.
Although not always directly comparable, the dataon housing stock and construction activity in China
and India highlight these divergent developments.
Not only has the stock of dwellings in China grown
faster than that in India (Graph 1), but the Chinese
housing stock also consists of a greater proportionof dwellings constructed with steel – which is ofparticular relevance for Australia – than is the casefor India.1 As Indian steelmakers import much of thecoal required for production, with Australian coking
coal a major source of supply, steel-intensive housing
construction in India is also important for Australia.2
This article compares the current Chinese and Indian
housing stocks and assesses the factors that affectthe path of residential investment in these two
1 The measure of the stock of dwellings in China has been boosted
by the significant increase in the average size of dwellings over thisperiod. The measure for India is based only on the number of houses,
not their size.
2 Hyvonen and Langcake (2012) note that India’s demand for iron ore(used with coking coal to create steel) is currently met through theextraction of high-quality hematite reserves.

B u l l e tin | m a r c h Q ua r t e r 2 0 1 463

Ho us i ng Tr ends i n Ch i n a a n d I n d i aGraph 1Graph 2

Dwelling Stock Growth*

Population*

Average annual growth over decade
%

%

China
8

8

4

4

B

B

1.4

1.4
China

1.0

1.0
India

India

0

1981–1991

1991–2001

2001–20110Growth in India’s dwelling stock is calculated using number of houses in
the census; for China, this is calculated using the growth in aggregate
residential floor space
Sources: Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India; National Bureau of
Statistics of China; RBA

0.6
1980

Demographic and Urbanisation
TrendsChina and India account collectively for almost
40 per cent of the world’s population, withpopulations of 1.3 billion and 1.2 billion, respectively.
Over the past three decades, India’s population
has grown at a much faster rate than in China,
although the annual population growth in bothcountries has slowed over this period (Graph 2).
Projections from the United Nations suggest thatwhile India’s population will continue to grow, albeit
at a somewhat slower pace than in the past, China’s
population will increase more slowly and eventually
begin to decline around 2030 when India’s
population is expected to surpass that of China (inits central scenario).3
Growth in the demand for housing is heavily
influenced by the growth in the number of
3 The central scenario assumes a continuation of recent patterns andpolicies on migration in each nation (UN 2013).

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R es erv e ba nk of Aus t r a l i a

2000

2010

2020

2030

2040

0.6
2050

* Dashes indicate projections
Source: United Nations*

countries. The first section reviews the demographic
and urbanisation trends underlying the demand for
housing; the second section explores the nature of
the housing stock and factors influencing residential
construction in China and India.

1990

households, which in turn is determined by the paceof population growth and changes in the average
household size.
Although population growth is projected to slow
in both China and India, the decline in the average
household size is likely to support the demand for
housing in both countries (Graph 3). In principle, themore rapid pace of population growth in India over the
past few decades could have been expected to haveencouraged greater housing demand than in China.
However, the average household size is much lower
in China than in India, both in rural and urban areas.
This has made a larger contribution to the growth inGraph 3
Average Household Size
Number of residents

No

No

Rural

Urban
India*

5

5

4

4
China

3

2

3

1992

2002

2012

1992

2002

2
2012

* Data from 2011 and 2001 census
Sources: CEIC Data; Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India; RBA

H o u sin g Tr e n ds in C hin a an d In dia

the number of households in China compared with
India.4 The smaller average household size, and thelarger population, mean that there are currently over
160 million more households in China than India,
most of which are in China’s urban areas. Althoughlarger households potentially require a larger house,
the significant number of additional households in
China is likely to have bolstered their overall level of
housing investment compared with that in India.
Urbanisation is another key factor driving investment
in housing. Since the 1980s, China’s population has
undergone rapid urbanisation, with the current
population approximately evenly split between
urban and rural areas (Graph 4).5 In contrast, in India
only around 30 per cent of its 1.2 billion people live inurban areas, and its urban population is not expected
to surpass the rural population for another 30 years(UN 2012). Even though India is projected to overtake
China as the world’s most populous nation by 2030,
it is estimated that there will still be 350 million
more urban residents in China at that time. The
more moderate pace of urbanisation in India meansthat it may not experience a surge in demand forhigh-density dwellings of a similar magnitude to thatobserved in China.

Graph 4
Urban and Rural Population*
B

Rural population

Urban population

0.8

B

0.8
China

0.4

0.4
India

0.0
1960

1990

2020

2050

1990

2020

0.0
2050

* Dashes indicate projections
Sources: RBA; United Nations; World Bank

4 High levels of housing construction in China could have also
supported growth in the number of households, as there may be fewer
multigenerational households if there is sufficient housing supply.
5 Due to limitations, Graph 4 uses backdated data on urban populations
from the World Bank database. All projections are from the United Nations.

The Nature of the Housing Stock
While the overall number of households andurbanisation patterns are important elements ofhousing demand, the quality of the housing stock
is an important factor in determining the typeand resource intensity of housing investment, inparticular the use of steel in construction. Fromsimilar starting points three decades ago, whenboth populations were primarily living in traditional
housing structures in rural areas, the differences in
the pace of urbanisation and average household
size, and especially income growth, have led toconsiderable differences in the quality of the housing
stock in the two countries today.
Data on the construction quality of Chinese
housing are only available for rural households,
and so could be expected to be a lower boundfor Chinese dwelling quality.6 There has been avery large increase in the share of rural dwellingsin China classified as having a ‘reinforced concrete
structure’, from 9 per cent of the dwelling stock in1991 to 45 per cent in 2011 (Graph 5). As there has
been faster growth in the urban population – whereconcrete dwellings are more common – than in therural population, the share of concrete dwellings in
the whole of China is likely to have grown even fasterthan this.
Given the high population density of India,
residential construction has the potential to use
steel intensively. However, unlike China, the shareof concrete dwellings in India has increased only
modestly over the past two decades and remains
at low levels. According to the Indian census, only
3.5 per cent of households live in a dwelling withconcrete walls. Steel would not be likely to be found(in any significant way) in buildings made of any
other material, so these data suggest that the use ofsteel in residential dwellings is currently quite low.
6 As suggested in Berkelmans and Wang (2012), many of the areas
classified as rural, as published by the National Bureau of Statistics ofChina, may later be reclassified as urban areas. As dwellings measured
as a ‘reinforced concrete structure’ are likely to be multistorey
structures built on urban fringes, these data are not likely to reflect atrue rural environment .

B u l l e tin | m a r c h Q ua r t e r 2 0 1 465

Ho us i ng Tr ends i n Ch i n a a n d I n d i aGraph 5Graph 6

Concrete Dwellings
Per cent of dwellings

%

%

40

40

m

Urban Residential Floor Space2

Per capita

m2

Per household

30

60

China*
30

30

20

India

20

40

China

20
10

10

10
India

0

1991

2001

2011

0

* National Bureau of Statistics of China measure of rural dwellings
Sources: Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India; National Bureau of
Statistics of China; RBA

Indeed, even though India’s current level of GDP per
capita is similar to that of China in 2002, the Chinese
housing stock in 2002 consisted of a far greater
proportion of houses constructed with steel than isthe case for India today. In 2002, around 29 per centof Chinese ‘rural’ households lived in a ‘reinforced
concrete structure’, a larger percentage than thecurrent concrete intensity in any major Indian city.7
The composition of the housing stock in India today
is more similar to that in China between 1985 and1990 when per capita incomes in China were lessthan one-third of India’s current levels.
In addition to being constructed using higher
quality materials, Chinese houses are also generally
larger than in India. Between 1993 and 2008, urban
residential floor space per capita in China increasedby 10 square metres, while in India it increased by atmost 1 square metre (Graph 6).8 Despite the larger
average household size in India, estimates of urban
residential floor space per household are significantly
larger in China. In India, smaller dwellings on average
7 Data are available annually on the share of concrete dwellings in ‘rural’
areas in China, but the equivalent measure in India is only measured
every 10 years in the census.
8 Berkelmans and Wang (2012) estimate an average dwelling size
per capita that is smaller than official estimates because the official
estimates appear not to include the migrant worker population.
Indian floor space data are collected from the National Sample
Surveys. These surveys report lower average household sizes than thecensus data.

66

20

R es erv e ba nk of Aus t r a l i a

0

1993

2002

2008

1993

2002

2008

Sources: CEIC Data; Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation,
Government of India; RBA

and little growth in average floor space are likely tohave been associated with lower demand for raw
materials for housing construction, relative to China.
Average income growth has been a key reason
behind these different trends in the quality of the
housing stock. The urbanisation process in China hastransferred large numbers of workers from relatively
low productivity jobs in the rural sector to higher
productivity jobs in urban areas. This movement has
been a driver of the rapid growth in incomes in China
over the past three decades, which has far exceeded
the growth in incomes in India (Graph 7). Overtime, Chinese households have chosen to spend
their higher income on higher quality dwellingsand dwellings with larger floor space and, as aconsequence, the share of concrete dwellings andresidential floor space per capita has increased.
Higher incomes increased the demand for higher
quality buildings in China and so, as Berkelmans andWang (2012) note, demolitions occur at a high rate
as low-quality dwellings are replaced. As incomesin India rise, demolitions may also increase due tothe high percentage of households currently livingin dwellings constructed with ‘informal materials’ –material other than burnt brick, concrete or stone
packed with mortar. The Indian census finds that
almost 40 per cent of all households in India live ina dwelling with walls made from informal materials.
However, it may be that these households seek to0H o u sin g Tr e n ds in C hin a an d In dia

Graph 7

Income Per Capita*

$’000

$’000
China

6

6

4

4

2

2
India

0

1982

1988

1994

2000

2006

0
2012

* Based on PPP, 2005 constant prices in US dollars
Source: World Bank

upgrade their rural dwellings rather than relocate tohigh-density urban areas, in which case it is not likelythat the demand for steel will increase significantly.
While income growth has supported the demandby households for higher-quality, mediumdensity dwellings, housing development also
typically requires an increased level of supporting
infrastructure. In China, various levels of government
have played an important role in coordinating theurban development process, supporting growth inhigher-density housing development. In contrast,
many areas of large Indian cities do not have thepower supply, water and sewerage facilities ortransportation infrastructure to support dense
housing areas (McKinsey Global Institute 2010).
Moreover, it has been suggested that a range ofstate and city laws across India result in project
delays, illegal construction and inefficient land use,which constrain urban development (Panagariya2008). These impediments not only make residential
construction more difficult in India but could also

impede the urbanisation and productivity cycle thatis a significant driver of residential development.
Selected indicators from the World Bank database on
the development of crucial infrastructure show thatIndia generally lags in these aspects in comparison
with China (Table 1).
Looking ahead, while these constraints are currently
restricting high-density residential developments in
India, the construction of necessary infrastructure,such as bridges and railways, is likely to increase
the demand for steel over time. The Delhi-Mumbai
Industrial Corridor is one project that is likely tocontribute to India’s steel demand. Initially, theproject proposes to develop seven cities alongthe 1 483 kilometre Western Dedicated Rail Freight
Corridor into global manufacturing and commercial
hubs with world-class physical infrastructure tofacilitate freight movement (Planning Commission,
Government of India 2013). The McKinsey
Global Institute (MGI) estimates that by 2030,
US$1.2 trillion of capital investment will be necessary
to meet the projected demand in India’s cities and
7 400 kilometres of metros and subways will need tobe constructed (McKinsey Global Institute 2012). In
addition, MGI estimate that, by 2030, 700–900 million
square metres of commercial and residential spaceneeds to be built to accommodate urbanisation inIndia.
From Australia’s point of view, the combined
investment in housing construction in China andIndia is significant because of the overall impact on
the demand for Australian commodities. Continued
growth in urban populations and their incomes will
support demand for steel-intensive construction inboth China and India. In addition, if the expansion of

Table 1: China and India – Development Indicators
Roads paved, per cent of total roads, 2008
Per cent of urban population with access to improved sanitation
facilities, 2011
Electricity consumption, kWh per capita, 2011
Internet users per 100 people, 2012

China

India

54

50

74

60

3 298

684

42

13

Source: World BankB u l l e tin | m a r c h Q ua r t e r 2 0 1 467

Ho us i ng Tr ends i n Ch i n a a n d I n d i ainfrastructure in India meets the projected demand,
Indian commercial construction has the potential tohave a large impact on the global demand for raw
materials.

References

Conclusion

Hyvonen M and S Langcake (2012), ‘India’s Steel Industry’,
RBA Bulletin, March, pp 29–35.

Differences in demographic, urbanisation andincome trends in China and India have been key
factors underlying variations in the use of steel
in housing construction. In China, the declining
average household size and rapid urbanisation as
well as strong income growth have underpinned
investment in high-quality and high-density
housing. In contrast, slower urbanisation andincome growth in India, alongside administrative
difficulties associated with undertaking housingdevelopments, have limited the demand for steel,iron ore and coal for housing construction in India.
However, the magnitude of essential infrastructureneeds throughout India indicates that there is thepotential for significant increases in demand forthese commodities as infrastructure is developedand incomes continue to rise. At the same time, as
the large proportion of households living in informal
dwellings, particularly in rural areas, seek to upgrade
their dwelling or relocate to urban areas, this will add
to the demand for steel-intensive housing. R

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Berkelmans L and H Wang (2012), ‘Chinese Urban
Residential Construction to 2040’, RBA Research Discussion
Paper No 2012-04.

McKinsey Global Institute (2010), ‘India’s Urban
Awakening: Building Inclusive Cities, Sustaining Economic
Growth’, Final Report, April.
Panagariya A (2008), India: The Emerging Giant, Oxford
University Press, New York.
Planning Commission, Government of India (2013),‘Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–2017) – Economic Sectors’,
Volume II, p 94.
UN (United Nations) (2012), World Urbanization Prospects:
The 2011 Revision – Highlights, United Nations, New York.
UN (2013), World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision –Highlights and Advance Tables, United Nations, New York.