Is China really facing a property bubble?

Plenty of pundits are warning that Chinese house prices are in bubble territory. But China's housing market is a lot more complicated than the UK's, and fears of a bubble may be overblown. Cris Sholto Heaton explains why.

China is in the middle of a property bubble. At least, that's what the headlines say. Property sales are up 80% year-on-year. Prices in some hotspots have jumped 20%-30% in a few months. Buyers now queue up when prime new developments go on sale.

But the reality is less straightforward. The Chinese property market is very complicated, and I'm not sure anyone is completely confident they understand it. Arguing that Chinese house prices are in a bubble is not as simple as making the case that US house prices were bubbly back in 2005, for example.

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Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.