The angry victims of China’s property crisis

From: The Economist IE Sep-15-2024 11:19:am

Read in browser

December 10th 2023

The Extraordinary Story

Long reads and life from 1843 magazine, delivered every Sunday

CHINA

Give us our homes! The angry victims of China’s property crisis

Millions of people are waiting for flats that may never be built

Gu Lin chose the apartment at One Riviera because of its location: a quiet residential neighbourhood just a few kilometres south of Shanghai’s financial district and a short bike ride from the Huangpu river, which bisects the city into east and west. Although Gu had to pay a premium for such an area, he reckoned it made the flat more likely to hold its value if the property market, as he suspected it would, eventually ran out of steam.

He made a 70% downpayment on the 20m yuan ($2.8m) flat in March 2020. His wife and their child, along with Gu’s parents, were due to move into the three-bedroom home in spring 2022. Gu, who is from Shanghai and has a well-paid, management-level job, imagined strolling with his family beneath the 300 cherry trees the developer planned to plant next to the two residential towers. But almost two years after the family were meant to get the keys, One Riviera is still a building site.

Gu Lin is one of millions of Chinese people who ploughed their life savings into a property that may never get built. An unprecedented crisis in the real-estate sector, caused by a mix of rapacious developers, covid-19 lockdowns and misguided government policies, has left firms bankrupt and investors out of pocket.

Read the full article →

First month free

Get digital access to independent global analysis

Start trial

Also from 1843 magazine

ARGENTINA

The secret police killed his parents. Then one of them adopted him

Argentines orphaned by a murderous junta are just learning who their real parents were

From the archive

RUSSIA

The Russian draft-dodgers who fled to Alaska in a dinghy

How two men evaded military guards to avoid fighting in Ukraine

BRITAIN

Britain’s health service is in such dire straits that doctors are expected to cut corners

A general practitioner laments the new normal

Also from The Economist

Subscriber exclusive

Plot Twist is your weekly guide to books, films, TV, albums and more. In an era of content overload, our editors will help you decide what to read, what to watch and what to listen to.

We’d like to hear from you

Share your feedback via the email address below.

Email [email protected]

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

This email has been sent to: krazypromo. If you'd like to update your details please click here. Replies to this email will not reach us. If you don't want to receive these updates anymore, please unsubscribe here.

Keep updated