A question of time

It isn’t a question of whether China’s property market is a bubble, but when it will burst.

Xiao Wan bought a 65-square-metre apartment near the North fourth ring road in Beijing last year. He couldn’t even recall clearly the room layout but remembered it was the first decent enough apartment that he found fairly affordable. He hastily signed the purchasing documents, but has never lived there and does not plan to.

The 27-year-old lives with his friend near the third ring road in China’s capital city. He bought the apartment as an investment, which so far is panning out. “I bought it for Rmb15,000 $2,214 per-square-metre it now can be sold at Rmb25,000,” he said. “It’s good just having it.”

Wan is not alone. Many homebuyers nowadays in China consider their property...

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