Abstract: Based on the samples of 35 large and medium-sized cities in China from 2003 to 2013, this paper discusses the influence of urban housing prices on corporate debt financing from the two dimensions of corporate over-indebtedness and credit constraints. The findings show that if the nature of property rights and the degree of credit constraints are different, the impact of the rising house prices on corporate debt financing is also significantly different. The non-state-owned enterprises with weak credit constraints have a significant“crowding out”effect, for which their funds will be attracted into the real estate industry, thus the“de-reality”of the economy will be intensified; while the non-state-owned enterprises with no credit constraints will have a“crowding-in”effect. However, as for the non-state-owned enterprises with strong credit constraints, their financing costs will be increased. To a certain extent, this can alleviate the ownership discrimination in debt financing and facilitate the flow of social capital into the non-state-owned enterprises.

Key words: excessive debt; attributes of property rights; credit constraints; debt financing