A house is usually regarded as a symbol of social status or identity (e.g. Marcus, 1995;
Savage, et al., 2005), so it is often associated with psychological and social risks in
Western culture. However, this study revealed that few of these risks were perceived by
Chinese interviewees. The interview results offered two possible explanations. One is that
the symbolic function of a house in China is smaller than that in Western countries.
Previously, under the welfare-oriented housing system, allocation by work units was the
only way for people to get their homes. At present, the social status of owning a house is
still in the formative stages and therefore less significant than that in Western nations.
In addition, houses are so expensive that most people in China focus more on whether you
own a house than what type of house you own.