China’s bubble

$300B

The debt of China’s second-biggest property developer, Evergrande. China’s decades-long building spree has piqued the interest of outside observers who point to vast empty developments called “ghost cities” as evidence of a looming housing bubble. Since 2017, the Chinese government has taken measures to limit investors’ ability to buy unoccupied dwellings in an attempt to stave off a housing bubble. “Houses are for living in, not for speculation,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the time. Despite those efforts, evidence suggests real estate prices are falling, imperiling highly indebted developers like Evergrande and setting up both the Chinese and global financial markets for collateral damage.

65M

The number of uninhabited homes in China, according to Reuters—enough to resettle every household in Brazil.

40%

The drop in prices at a housing development in Nanyang in less than a year, according to reporting from Caixin.

$10.6T

The most recent figures for household loans, mostly mortgages, held by Chinese citizens, according to Reuters.

40%

The percentage of the average Chinese household’s assets made up of property, signaling how devastating a housing bubble could be.

36.2%

The year-over-year decline in September property sales by China’s top 100 property developers.