In recent years, China’s housing issue has been prominently featured in the Western media. Rapid urban development, skyrocketing prices, the dependency of local governments on land revenues, and the most “shocking”, the rumored bankruptcy of the real estate giant Evergrande, 13 years after the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2008 shook the world economy, aroused the attention of financial analysts everywhere. However, what is the actual situation of the real estate market in China and what is the government doing?
The nut of the article. Evergrande was leading a speculative real estate bubble primarily concerned with high end construction. Once the cheap money funnel was turned off, they were forced into receivership.
The Chinese state responded by loosening regulations and lowering interest rates (a classic western move) while increasing public investment and expanding low income housing in large urban areas (a nearly unheard of Western move). And now we're seeing recovery to match standard growth models.