Local residents look at a model of a Poly Real Estate Group housing project at a real estate showroom on May 25, 2023 in Sanya, Hainan Province of China.
China's once free-spending property buyers are now cautious about their real-estate purchases amid the country's post-COVID economic slump.
  • China's property market is a huge part of the economy, but it's now in a deep slump.
  • Beijing has been cracking down on excessive debt and speculation in the property market since 2020.
  • Authorities are now trying to boost the property market by encouraging consumption.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping proclaimed, "Houses are for living in and not for speculation," in October 2017, the statement was met with stupendous applause in a red-hot real-estate market.