For the past three decades, China has been a nation of homeowners — supercharging the world’s second-largest economy and fulfilling the dreams of millions. Since the decline and eventual end of a welfare housing policy in the 1990s, government planning has coalesced with deep-seated cultural norms to create a level of private ownership unfathomable in the West.
While tens of millions of Americans are laden with tuition loans – many well into their 30s, leaving renting their only option – their Chinese counterparts start planning the purchase of their first homes straight out of university.
But a slowing economy and crisis-battered housing market could upend that.
