China's struggling property market: Will real estate woes spread?
Last year, the Chinese government implemented policy measures to cool its overheating property market known as the “three red lines”. This limited the amount of debt developers could hold relative to their assets, hampered companies’ ability to source financing and resulted in massive deleveraging for selected developers in order to comply with Beijing’s new rules. The government has since announced additional policies, further hampering developers’ balance sheets. The measures have had a notable effect: Property sales in China were down over 20% in October, while construction and investment activity have taken a hit so far this year. Evergrande Group—China’s second-largest property developer—has been a high-profile victim of the moves.
China’s property sector is the single largest contributor to GDP, accounting for roughly a quarter of the economy and a large proportion of local government revenues. Consequently, any slowdown in the property sector will have a large impact on GDP growth. Moreover, as the second largest economy in the world, weaker growth prospects in China have large implications for the global economy. For instance, in November the Federal Reserve raised concerns over possible spillover effects into the Chinese financial system more broadly, and from there to global financial markets given China’s huge size and trade links.
Looking ahead, the deleveraging process among China’s most at-risk developers will have a large impact on the property sector over the next few quarters. Moreover, China’s quarterly GDP outlook has deteriorated notably since headlines broke on Evergrande’s debt issues in August. Flagging market sentiment, illiquidity, weaker home sales and softer construction and investment activity are projected to be key drags on the overall Chinese economy in the short term. However, the potential for some policy support from authorities, as well as Beijing’s tight control over the financial system, should soften the blow and contain any threat to the broader financial system and global economic recovery.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FocusEconomics S.L.U. Views, forecasts or estimates are as of the date of the publication and are subject to change without notice. This report may provide addresses of, or contain hyperlinks to, other internet websites. FocusEconomics S.L.U. takes no responsibility for the contents of third party internet websites.
Author: Steven Burke, Economist
Date: November 22, 2021
Featured Posts
-
What's in store for Russia's economy this year?
-
What's Europe's 2023 economic outlook?
-
Our analysts' expectations for 2023
-
How will China’s latest Covid-19 curbs affect the economy?
-
The World's Fastest Growing Economies
-
Which will be the most miserable economies in 2023?
-
As COP27 rumbles on, which regional economy will be most affected by climate change?
Tags
Lagarde Euro Area United States Sub-Saharan Africa Oil Tunisia economic growth Asian Financial Crisis Inflation Vietnam CIS Countries Consensus Forecast Precious Metals Commodities Emerging Markets Fed UK Copper Italy Canadian Economy Company News Economic Debt Canada Healthcare Economic Outlook Economic Growth (GDP) Unemployment rate Budget deficit Dolar Iran Exchange Rate Base Metals Africa Nordic Economies Exports Palladium Interest rate USA China France Argentina OPEC Agricultural Commodities Euro Germany Israel USD Russia Latin America Gold Government Bond Cannabis Central America Sterlin TPP Eastern Europe TPI Australia Trade Qatar Mexico Portugal precious metals Political Risk United Kingdom interview Greece Asean Economic Crisis Brexit Venezuela Major Economies Asia Exchange Rates ECB public debt IMF Spain digitalcurrencies Turkey Forex TPS Nigeria MENA Energy Commodities oil prices Banking Sector Draghi Colombia Costa Rica; GDP; Budget chile election Bitcoin scotiabank centralbanks GDP Base Metals Commodities Eurozone Cryptocurrency India Infographic Ukraine Brazil Economists Commodities G7 Housing Market South Africa Resource Curse WorldCup Japan Investment European UnionTwitter @FocusEconomics
-
In this new insight piece, we examine the likely trajectory of Brazil’s economy under new president Lula da Silva:… https://t.co/4uAVrQPByz
1 day ago
-
East and South Asia's economy will record the fastest growth of any world region this year and next, although prosp… https://t.co/j26qMHz4E3
1 day ago
-
This year, inflation in most Sub-Saharan African economies should ease from last year’s peak. It will, however, rem… https://t.co/sWswa9iAV2
2 days ago
-
Regional inflation should ease this year, although it will remain elevated mainly due to lagged effects of higher p… https://t.co/DQTbni1lTn
3 days ago
-
Our analysts' 2023 inflation projections for Argentina have risen remorselessly in recent months in light of a tumb… https://t.co/NzqPZQgKx7
4 days ago