China has been trimming interest rates recently – in contrast to other major economies – as it tries to stem the economic effects of its zero-COVID policy and address a growing property crisis. The country’s traditionally strong housing market has been affected by a funding crisis that has seen development paused and led to buyers refusing to pay their mortgages.
The recent spate of mortgage strikes by homebuyers across China has exposed the risk that has accumulated in the market as it has developed over the past two decades. The mortgage strikes started earlier this year among a group of people that bought homes in an Evergrande development in Jingdezhen city, Jiangxi province, but protests have since spread to buyers of other developments throughout China.
