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STORY: China is taking bold new action in a bid to revive its ailing property sector. Beijing said Friday (May 17) that local governments would buy up some unsold apartments. Officials also promised forceful efforts to deliver unfinished homes. The move comes after years of turmoil in the sector. It all began in 2021, when officials started taking steps to tackle the massive debts built up by some property firms. Many major developers have since defaulted, or gone under. That has left China littered with millions of unsold or unfinished homes. Previous steps to drive a rebound don’t seem to have worked. Recent data have shown home prices, sales and investment all continuing to tumble. Now Beijing says local governments will buy apartments at “reasonable” prices, with many to be used for affordable housing. There was no detail on how long this would take, or how it would be funded. Analysts note that local authorities in China are already some $9 trillion in debt. Separately Friday, the country’s central bank said it would cut mortgage interest rates and downpayment requirements, in a further bid to boost home buying. Markets welcomed the various announcements, with China’s index of real estate stocks jumping 6% by midafternoon.
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