China faces a concerning property market crisis, with a whopping 72 lakh houses remaining unsold despite a population of 1.4 billion. The property market, once a robust economic pillar, is now in distress due to defaults and dwindling interest in home purchases.
72 Lakh Unsold Houses and the Precarious State of the Economy
This crisis traces back to the 2021 loan repayment default by China’s leading real estate company, China Evergrande Group, causing a downward spiral in the property sector. The data highlighting unsold properties does not even account for unfinished residential projects or vacant houses due to cash flow issues or speculative purchases during the property market’s boom in 2016.
Taking these into account, the number of vacant houses in China escalates further. Experts suggest that the current estimate of vacant houses in China could potentially accommodate up to 3 billion people, a stark reflection of the magnitude of the issue.