(Yicai) Feb. 5 — Thanks to a government initiative and targeted financing China has largely put the long-running problem of stalled home deliveries behind it.
The country’s property developers handed over about 7.5 million delayed homes to buyers between August 2022 and December 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
The turnaround follows the introduction of a government initiative in August 2022 instructing banks to extend dedicated loans to vetted housing projects placed on a state-approved “whitelist” so that builders could complete construction and deliver overdue homes, thereby safeguarding the rights and interests of buyers.
New homes in China are mostly sold before they are built, with buyers making a down payment at the early construction stage that enables builders to raise capital quickly. But some divert these funds for other purposes, including other developments, leaving them unable to complete homes and triggering disputes.
Of the 3.96 million housing units placed on the government’s whitelist, about 3.91 million had been delivered by the end of last November, according to ministry data. Since the program was launched, banks have approved more than CNY7 trillion (USD1 trillion) in loans for whitelisted projects, providing key financial backing to ensure construction completion and timely delivery.
As the delivery program has advanced, under-construction project stoppages have fallen sharply over the past two years, said Yan Yuejin, deputy director of the E-House China Research Institute. At the same time, the number of on-schedule and higher-quality deliveries has increased, offering stronger protection for buyers, Yan added.
“Failed timely deliveries were one of the major risks plaguing the property sector in recent years,” Yan noted. “With the delivery program nearing completion, property sector risks have been markedly contained, sending a positive signal that both project and corporate risks are being cleared more quickly.”
Several executives at Chinese property developers told Yicai that delivery targets for their whitelisted projects were largely met last year, significantly easing delivery pressure across the sector as the government initiative took effect.
“Over the past four years, ensuring delivery has been the company’s top priority,” an insider at a private developer in East China, which once had annual sales of CNY150 billion (USD21 billion), told Yicai. “By the end of 2025, only a few thousand units remained to be delivered, and the pressure has become highly manageable. It’s fair to say that the toughest period is behind us.”
An executive at another leading private builder told Yicai that his firm has also largely completed its delivery obligations. As it has barely acquired any new land in the recent few years, the number of projects under construction has fallen sharply, and with delivery tasks now completed, this year is expected to mark a fresh start for the company, the person noted.
As clearer signs emerge that home prices are bottoming out, some cities — particularly first-tier markets — are showing signs of stabilization, providing a firmer basis for a recovery in housing activity and supporting confidence rebuilding across the sector, Yan said.
Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione