China's Reopening Causes Student Housing Crisis in Australia
2023-03-11
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1A surprise rule by China requires Chinese college students overseas to learn in-person if they want their education to recognized back home.
2The rule has caused a housing rush for students.
3At the same time, housing markets worldwide are seeing rising rent prices.
4Zoey Zhang is a student from China who will be attending a top Australian university.
5She is enrolled in a master's program in marketing at the University of New South Wales.
6She said finding housing in Australia has been extremely difficult.
7It has been so hard that she has considered sleeping "on the streets."
8About 700,000 students from China who are enrolled to study overseas have been left in a difficult position.
9But the crisis is more urgent in Australia.
10That is because its school year starts in February.
11In many other parts of the world, including North America and Europe, the school year starts in September.
12Zhang said she panicked after the rule change.
13After three years of COVID-19 border closures, she and about 40,000 other Chinese students also going to Australia will be looking for a place to stay.
14"I knew that finding a rental in Australia won't be easy, but I didn't expect it to be this difficult.
15Some are subletting their living rooms or balconies. I don't think I can do that," Zhang said from her home in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong.
16The University of New South Wales said campus housing is now full.
17It said it was in the process of fixing up university apartments to rent to foreign students.
18A spokesperson for Sydney University said its 2,400 dormitory beds near campus were taken.
19The university said it had reserved another 700 beds with other providers and negotiated lower prices with hotels.
20Observers say even those planning to wait another semester to start school may struggle to find a bed.
21Many building projects for foreign student housing were delayed during the pandemic.
22It takes at least four years to complete one of the buildings.
23Before 2020, Chinese students made up about 40 percent of the $27 billion that Australia earns each year educating foreigners.
24Those earnings dropped sharply because of COVID-related border restrictions.
25But China's reopening is a "welcome sign" for investors, said Brad Williams.
26He is managing director of AMP Capital, Australia's third-largest owner of student housing properties.
27Louis Liu is a Chinese student in Brisbane.
28She has started attending property viewings across the city.
29She films them for Chinese students who are still in mainland China.
30She said she films about two viewings each day and earns up to $27 for each one.
31Joe Du is a real estate agent in Sydney.
32He said he rented a one-bedroom apartment to the mother of a Chinese student for $710 per week.
33That is about 40 percent more than the next most costly one-bedroom apartment in the neighborhood.
34The unit rented for $365 a week in 2022.
35"We told her there was no need to bid this high," Du said, "but she is genuinely concerned that her kid might not have a place to stay."
36I'm Dan Novak.
1A surprise rule by China requires Chinese college students overseas to learn in-person if they want their education to recognized back home. 2The rule has caused a housing rush for students. At the same time, housing markets worldwide are seeing rising rent prices. 3Zoey Zhang is a student from China who will be attending a top Australian university. She is enrolled in a master's program in marketing at the University of New South Wales. 4She said finding housing in Australia has been extremely difficult. It has been so hard that she has considered sleeping "on the streets." 5About 700,000 students from China who are enrolled to study overseas have been left in a difficult position. But the crisis is more urgent in Australia. That is because its school year starts in February. In many other parts of the world, including North America and Europe, the school year starts in September. 6Zhang said she panicked after the rule change. After three years of COVID-19 border closures, she and about 40,000 other Chinese students also going to Australia will be looking for a place to stay. 7"I knew that finding a rental in Australia won't be easy, but I didn't expect it to be this difficult. Some are subletting their living rooms or balconies. I don't think I can do that," Zhang said from her home in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong. 8The University of New South Wales said campus housing is now full. It said it was in the process of fixing up university apartments to rent to foreign students. 9A spokesperson for Sydney University said its 2,400 dormitory beds near campus were taken. The university said it had reserved another 700 beds with other providers and negotiated lower prices with hotels. 10Observers say even those planning to wait another semester to start school may struggle to find a bed. Many building projects for foreign student housing were delayed during the pandemic. It takes at least four years to complete one of the buildings. 11Before 2020, Chinese students made up about 40 percent of the $27 billion that Australia earns each year educating foreigners. Those earnings dropped sharply because of COVID-related border restrictions. 12But China's reopening is a "welcome sign" for investors, said Brad Williams. He is managing director of AMP Capital, Australia's third-largest owner of student housing properties. 13Louis Liu is a Chinese student in Brisbane. She has started attending property viewings across the city. She films them for Chinese students who are still in mainland China. She said she films about two viewings each day and earns up to $27 for each one. 14Joe Du is a real estate agent in Sydney. He said he rented a one-bedroom apartment to the mother of a Chinese student for $710 per week. That is about 40 percent more than the next most costly one-bedroom apartment in the neighborhood. The unit rented for $365 a week in 2022. 15"We told her there was no need to bid this high," Du said, "but she is genuinely concerned that her kid might not have a place to stay." 16I'm Dan Novak. 17Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by Reuters. 18____________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20rent - n. money that you pay in return for being able to use property and especially to live in an apartment, house, etc., that belongs to someone else 21enroll - v. to become a member or participant 22panic - n. a state or feeling of extreme fear that makes someone unable to act or think normally 23sublet - v. to allow someone to use for a period of time in return for payment 24balcony - n. a raised platform that is connected to the side of a building and surrounded by a low wall or railing 25campus - n. the area and buildings around a university, college, school, etc. 26apartment - n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live 27dormitory - n. a building on a school campus that has rooms where students can live 28real estate agent - n. a person in the business of selling land and buildings 29bid - v. to offer to pay for something that is being sold 30genuine - adj. actual, real, or true