Government Policies Cool China’s Real Estate Boom
Thanks to Andrew for passing this along.
SANYA, China — China’s nationwide real estate boom became so manic last year that many would-be buyers camped in tents on the sidewalks of this tropical island city to be at the front of the line when condominiums went on sale — even though the condos had not yet been built.
But the real estate market here has cooled so rapidly this autumn that the tents have disappeared and been replaced with 20-foot-long banners on balconies with the phone numbers of speculators desperate to sell. Ads have grown on the Internet for unfinished apartments at up to 28 percent off the price at which developers were selling them a few months ago.
“Last year, when things were good, we had over 100 people a day coming into our office,” said David Zhang, the sales director at the Honor-Link Investment Consultant Company, a real estate brokerage here. “Now we have three or four a day, and no one is buying.”
One of the world’s few remaining real estate bubbles finally seems to be losing air. Real estate transactions have slowed so quickly that in the last two weeks, brokerages across China have laid off thousands of brokers and closed hundreds of offices.
- Links
Oaktree Insights: Investing in Real Estate [H/T ValueWalk] (LINK) In this Oaktree Insights paper, John Brady (Real Estate Portfolio Manager) explores the introductory concepts of real estate investing and provides an overview of Oaktree's investment...
- China 2012: The Year Of The Bull (rogers) Or The Bear (chanos)? - By Janet Tavakoli
When I think of a China bull and a China bear, I think of the legendary dueling Jims: Jim Rogers and Jim Chanos. In response to investors bearish on China, Jim Rogers famously said: “I find it interesting that people who couldn’t spell China 10 years...
- Gmo Whitepaper: Between Errors Of Optimism And Pessimism – Observations On The Real Estate Cycle In The United States And China - By Edward Chancellor
US housing has been through a prolonged slump, while China’s real estate market has been booming. Many people believe these trends will continue for a while. In fact, property is the most cyclical of assets. After five years of decline, the US real...
- Ron Peltier On King World News
Ronald Peltier: Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway Affiliate - HomeServices of America is the nation’s second-largest full-service residential real estate brokerage firm and became the conduit...
- Ron Peltier On King World News
Ron Peltier is chairman and chief executive officer of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate and the nation’s second-largest full-service residential real estate brokerage firm. Ron has helped build Home Services of America into...