this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2024
214 points (96.5% liked)

World News

38930 readers
2074 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News [email protected]

Politics [email protected]

World Politics [email protected]


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

The industry that has traditionally powered about a quarter of GDP has been in a downward spiral that policymakers have struggled to halt

All across China, from Beijing in the north, to Shenzhen in the south, millions of newly built homes stand empty and unwanted. There were nearly 391m sq metres of unsold residential property in China as of April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That is the equivalent of Manchester and Birmingham combined – and then some – sitting as vacant, unwanted property.

This glut of idle property has caused a headache for the government, shaken the world’s second largest economy and raised tensions over the purpose of housebuilding in a nation where property investment had been viewed as a safe bet.

Since the real estate sector was sent into a tailspin in 2020, caused by the pandemic and a sudden regulatory crackdown, the industry that has traditionally powered about one-quarter of GDP has been in a downward spiral that policymakers have struggled to halt.

The crux of the problem is that, with shaky faith in the economy and big property developers failing to deliver on paid-for apartments, potential homebuyers are keeping their money out of the market.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (6 children)

You didn't demonstrate that they are wrong, you just said they are wrong. You didn't even contradict the claims made in the article: that the government is clearly making efforts in an attempt to prop this up.

If they did, they would know that the prevailing thought on Chinese social media is that the government is allowing real estate developers to fall… And they’re definitely falling.

Well let's start with, the prevailing opinion on social media here is that the Chinese government is attempting to prop up the real estate market, but it's still "deflating." Huh, interesting how "prevailing thought" on social media doesn't really mean all that much.

And they are pointing to actions that contradict this "prevailing thought," actions you haven't actually challenged. And those actions that they point to shows that it's falling despite their efforts, not that they are allowing it to happen. Again, you seem to just be ignoring facts you don't like.

We can believe whatever reality we want when we don't have to consider the facts. Just like good Trump supporters.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Shenyang in north-east China is offering 100 yuan (£11) a sqmetre subsidies for some homebuyers. Kaifeng in central Henan province is offering an income tax refund to anyone who buys a new property within a year of selling their old one. Changhsa, the capital of Hunan province, is encouraging developers to offer no-questions-asked refunds of housing deposits if a buyer changes their mind within seven days.

Local stimulus, which differs from Central government policy because contrary to popular belief the Chinese government is not a monolith. Different provinces want to get investment at the cost of other provinces, but this does not change the fact that in aggregate China's bubble is actively being deflated by the actions of the central government. The prevailing trajectory of the market, and the actions which the central government have taken in this regard, are very clear. In modern terms, this is "picking up pennies in front of a freight train."

Last month, the state-owned People’s Bank of China (PBOC) unveiled a 300bn yuan relending fund to support local governments and state-owned enterprises to buy up unsold stock and turn it into affordable housing. The central bank also lowered the minimum downpayment required for prospective buyers.

sigh do you know what the minimum down payment for a home in central Beijing is? 50%.

Give me an action that indicates the central government is not trying to institute a controlled collapse ("soft landing") of the real estate market. The numbers don't lie, but apparently you do.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Apparently a lot of people’s investments are tied up in those properties so if they values tank they’ll lose everything. Normally I wouldn’t sympathize at all but Chinese people have very limited options to invest their money and grow their savings.

Let's remember where this all starts from. The other poster said that if it tanks, people lose everything. You are now talking deflating the market softly, which indicates it is a bubble and that they are just trying to let the air out slowly. And ultimately, the top level point still stands: people are going to lose money, whether that be quickly or slowly.

Whether the the government is trying to "softly deflate it" or keep it growing (I suspect the latter, because again people losing all of their money in things the government has been encouraging and pumping up for decades is not a great look for them), they are propping it up, because letting the bubble burst would be a disaster.

sigh do you know what the minimum down payment for a home in central Beijing is? 50%.

It's funny that you call me a liar, but then state that this has nothing to do with the central government, and then turn around and quote something from the article that is talking about the central bank of the country. lol You think see dishonesty in me because you know you are being dishonest.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

How does lowering down payment requirements from 50% (!!!) prop up a market? It tweaks the demand curve a tiny bit, but like I said it's towards engineering a soft landing. I told you that the central government is trying to engineer a soft landing. What evidence do you have that disproves this?

Investors (who could afford to buy multiple homes) lose money. How terrible.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

How does lowering down payment requirements from 50% (!!!) prop up a market?

Really? This is an easy one: it opens to more people buying.

Investors (who could afford to buy multiple homes) lose money. How terrible.

I get that this is your talking point and you're going to keep repeating it. But, again, it seems that the government, both local and central, are doing something to stop these people from losing money. Whether you think this is good or bad is inconsequential, clearly the government at all levels in China believes it's bad, which is why they are making moves to stop it.

load more comments (2 replies)