In mid-2022, angry homebuyers across China took to the streets protesting against what they called “rotten tails,” or homes that distressed developers had pre-sold but were unable to finish. They accused builders of misusing sales proceeds and banks of failing to safeguard their money. Some threatened mortgage boycotts.

Seeing it as a prelude to large-scale social unrest, Beijing hurried out a slew of new measures to boost financing to the sector. The People’s Bank of China has since pledged a total of 550 billion yuan ($77 billion) to help complete delayed projects, via policy-bank loans and a re-lending facility. Large commercial lenders can tap 200 billion yuan of zero-interest funding if they make property development loans to the builders.