'Empty houses everywhere'

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‘Empty houses everywhere': Former Chinese official's rare public critique on China's economy

Despite having a population of 1.4 billion, China would not be enough to fill all the empty apartments littered across the country, a former official said in a rare public critique of the country's crisis-hit property market, reported Hindustan Times.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the combined floor area of unsold homes stood at 648 million square metres at the end of August 2023.

This equals to almost 7.2 million homes based on the average home size of 90 square metres, news agency Reuters reported, adding that numerous residential projects have already been sold but not yet completed due to cash-flow problems.

"How many vacant homes are there now? Each expert gives a very different number, with the most extreme believing the current number of vacant homes are enough for 3 billion people," He Keng, a former deputy head of the statistics bureau, said.

https://www.livemint.com/economy/empty-houses-everywhere-former-chinese-officials-rare-public-critique-on-chinas-economy-11695490817823.html

See also: Even China's 1.4 billion population can't fill all its vacant homes, former official says

Chinese investors scramble to offload overseas property portfolios

Property used to be the most favoured investment for Chinese people engaged in wealth accumulation, when it promised rapid and steady economic growth. Small apartments and condos in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, were a popular choice for the Chinese middle classes in the late 2010s due to affordability and geographic proximity.

“But a number of them can no longer afford the final payment for their property investment and desperately need cash to solve their domestic financial problems, such as business failures, lay-offs and mortgage loan defaults,” he said. “Some no longer have the extra funds to continue holding these overseas properties.”

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3235448/chinese-investors-scramble-sell-overseas-properties-amid-shaky-economic-conditions