STORY: China is doubling down on support for its battered property sector.

At a news conference Thursday (October 17) in Beijing, housing minister Ni Hong set out a raft of new measures.

He says the government will expand a so-called “white list” to $562 billion by year end.

That’s the list of housing projects that can get financing to ensure they can be finished and delivered to buyers.

There are no official estimates on the number of homes presold but unfinished in the country.

However, one report by Japanese bank Nomura put the number at 20 million.

Thursday also saw a pledge to accelerate the redevelopment of cities, with a million “urban villages” included in the plans.

Ni said people being resettled as part of the projects would help to fill up the existing stock of empty homes.

He claimed the moves would mark the bottoming out of the property market.

It’s all just the latest in a series of steps to support the sector, which has been in crisis since 2021.

That has seen big developers struggle with their debts, and sparked a long downward spiral in home prices.

However, markets were unimpressed by Thursday’s news, with China’s real estate index tumbling nearly 8%.

Traders said the moves weren’t dramatic enough to lift the mood.