Economists Urge China to Ramp Up Housing Rescue to Propel Growth

  • Most analysts favored property rescue as best stimulus option
  • Chinese government-led package has been beset by slow progress

The years-long real estate slump that’s wiped out an estimated $18 trillion in wealth from households has been the single biggest challenge faced by the Chinese economy.

Photographer: Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg
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China’s housing rescue package offers the best path for putting the country on track to expand around 5%, in the view of most economists, assuming it’s deployed to maximum effect in the face of a real estate crisis expected to last as long as five more years.

Among the policy options considered by 15 analysts in a Bloomberg survey, a more forceful implementation of the government-led plan was the top choice of a majority of respondents. The poll followed the release of data for August that deepened doubts over whether the economy will meet Beijing’s annual growth goal.