Economics
A Fifth of China’s Homes Are Empty. That’s 50 Million Apartments
- Risk is potential for flood of sales during any property slump
- Xi has said homes are for living in, not for speculation
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Chinese President Xi Jinping’s mantra that homes should be for living in is falling on deaf ears, with tens of millions of apartments and houses standing empty across the country.
Soon-to-be-published research will show roughly 22 percent of China’s urban housing stock is unoccupied, according to Professor Gan Li, who runs the main nationwide study. That adds up to more than 50 million empty homes, he said.