China Mortgage Boycott Widens as Homebuyers Demand Construction, Environment Quality

Bloomberg News, Bloomberg News

Materials at the construction site for the Mobius Research Park, a part of the World Laureates Association (WLA) Laboratory project, in the Lingang Special Area and Comprehensive Zone in Shanghai, China, on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. Chinese President Xi Jinping has a goal of turning a quiet Shanghai suburb into the country’s next Silicon Valley, but more than three years into its making, that vision is facing mounting challenges. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese homebuyers are citing a wider range of concerns as justification to boycott mortgage payments, including poor construction and noise pollution, ratcheting up their demand amid a spiraling housing crisis.

Data from the GitHub open-source site “WeNeedHome” showed homebuyers boycotting payments on 343 projects in mid-September, up from about 318 in early July. Some new boycotts stem from concerns about how well homes were constructed, rather than the timing of completion, and discontent around noise pollution and factors such as not having quality schools or malls nearby, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Andrew Chan and Daniel Fan wrote in a Friday note.

China’s deepening property crisis and a nationwide mortgage boycott have sparked turmoil in its economy and impacted millions of homeowners this year. The boycotts may increase the burden for local officials and complicate their efforts to defuse the crisis.

Still, the inclusion of more investment-grade developers such as China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. in the boycotts doesn’t necessarily suggest liquidity problems, BI analysts said. China’s more proactive policy measures on real estate could indicate the worst is over for the property sector, they said earlier this month.