China's Desperate Realty Developers Turn To Bizarre Marketing Tactics

The country's real-estate slump is getting worse and looks set to drag on for years

China's real-estate crisis has dragged down the economy, caused massive layoffs and pushed multibillion-dollar companies to the point of collapse.

Economists think it's about to get worse.

Sales of newly built homes in China fell 6% last year, returning to a level not seen since 2016, according to China's statistics bureau. Secondhand home prices in its four wealthiest cities-Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen declined between 11% and 14% in December from the year before, according to the broby ker Centaline Property.

Developers are starting fewer projects. Homeowners are paying back their mortgages early and borrowing less.

Once-thriving property companies are stuck in protracted negotiations with foreign investors, following defaults on about $125 billion of overseas bonds between 2020 and late 2023, according to figures from S&P Global Ratings.

Chinese developers and local governments are so desperate to attract home buyers that some have resorted to bizarre marketing strategies.