China's Once-Sizzling Property Market has Gone Cold

The Covid pandemic has delivered a chilling blow to China’s property sector at a time when it was starting to crumble under the weight of huge debts accumulated by developers such as China Evergrande, a report by the New York Times says, adding that new home prices fell in more than half of the country’s 70 biggest cities for the first time since 2016 and sales plunged more than 60%.

But so far, efforts to revive the sector, which could account for up to 30% of gross domestic product, with “lower mortgage rates, easier credit, subsidies and relaxed regulations have not worked”, the report said, noting that buyers were also protesting over quality problems and unfulfilled promises.

Read the full report: The New York Times.