this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2025
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It was a textbook bubble. They made and gambled on theoretical apartments where nobody involved had any intention of living there or any responsibility or connection to the underlying structure, to the point where building cardboard skyskrapers became a business.. the is no point in denying it. Capital housing investment is a plague on humanity.
There are always bad actors in the system (see: hedge funds). But bubble? It can be argued that Ordos (the ghost city) was build too early, but it's filling in nicely. From 30k in 2009 to 2.000.000+ in 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordos_City
On the other hand noone ever build a damn whole modern city before for the people, so I'm not surprised they jumped the gun.
When Investors own houses only because it will appreciate in value from time only, that is a fundamentally flawed system because in reality houses decrease in value as they get older. It creates an environment where everyone involved is a bad actor
I'm sorry, I'm a little bit lost. I do agree that investment in owning rentals should be forbidden (and if city needs rental units they should be owned by the city).
I do not agree that "ghost cities" were built for speculative purposes. Speculants were buying them like crazy, yes, but the actual need for housing in regions planned (expected?) to undergo urbanization is real and the buildings were fulfilling that purpose.
Let me guess.. is it because the people's republic is flawless in every concievable way? I saw some footage from someone that was there, not a news agency. I won't pretend that couldn't be wrong, but I am known to occasionally enjoy Occam's razor.