4 years after Evergrande crash, Chinese families are still stuck in ‘broken houses’
China’s faltering property sector continues to be a drag on consumption, with much of middle class wealth stored in homes that have not regained value
Rebecca Wei’s new home still looks like a construction site. The road running up to the high-rise housing complex in the central Chinese city of Luoyang is unfinished, dissolving into gravel before reaching the front gate.
Wei’s apartment itself is little more than a shell. The floors are bare cement. There is no permanent water or electricity supply, and the building does not comply with Chinese fire safety regulations.
“The developer delivered the property without even meeting the basic inspection standards, essentially saying, ‘Take it or leave it,’” Wei told the Post.
Wei is one of millions of Chinese homebuyers who are still living in the shadow of property giant China Evergrande Group’s collapse four years ago, which triggered a US$300 billion debt crisis that shook China’s housing market to its foundations.
Facing a liquidity crunch, developers froze construction on housing projects across the country, leaving buyers like Wei – who had often prepaid for their homes – stranded and facing severe financial losses.
Many are still waiting for their homes to be completed to this day. Others, including Wei, have finally moved into their flats, only to find the developers had cut corners and delivered properties in a “barely liveable” condition.
Meanwhile, property prices and new home sales continue to fall in dozens of Chinese cities, taking a toll on household finances and acting as a drag on consumption and economic growth.
Wei and her partner bought an apartment in Evergrande’s Yunhu Shangyuan estate in Luoyang in 2019, when China’s housing boom was at its peak. The small, fully furnished home cost the couple 830,000 yuan (US$115,600).