"There are a lot of things I don't understand about China's economy, and every time I think I might have a handle on it, I come across juicy tidbits like these

"There are a lot of things I don't understand about China's economy, and every time I think I might have a handle on it, I come across juicy tidbits like these ones:" Every tidbit you state is fully explained in the article's explanation of the lack of investment vehicles for middle and low income Chinese. When your bank account has a negative real interest rate, then real estate becomes a great vehicle for it, provided there is no crash. I suspect that the lack of non-government media in China causes many of the investors in these properties to have no idea that they sit dormant.