China's vacant housing

The State Grid recently announced that electricity meters in about 64.5m apartments are not being used, sparking domestic debate on the amount of vacant housing that exists in urban China. Some domestic media concluded that if 64.5m apartments could house as many as 200m people, then almost 40% of urban apartments are vacant. Some industry observers have suggested that the government should leverage a tax on vacant properties to deter the trend.

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Other Articles on this Issue

• Financial China

  Select financial charts

  Credit powers consumer activity

• Macro View

  Optimistic consumers

• The Big Call

  Survey shows strong consumer demand

• Consumer China

  Urban upper income group – big spenders, international tastes

  Urban middle income group – a Nokia, a Volkswagen and an eye on investments

  Rural migrant workers – buying domestic brands

  Rural discretionary consumer family – emerging from subsistence

  Urban low income group – self-improvers on the lowest urban rung

  Paid-for education – demand for English language tuition remains buoyant

  Mobile phones – Nokia losing share to Blackberry and Apple

  Health insurance – popularity of 'supplementary' insurance boosts key firms

  Cars – high-end models thrive as low-end stall

  Laptops and white goods – Apple gains on Lenovo, Haier strong in white goods

• The Best of Chinese Commentators

  Is car production reaching overcapacity?

• Funds Data

  Flows to Taiwan falter

• Guest Column

  China's losers from healthcare reform

• View issue