[seanmcdirmid]

Beijing real estate makes San Francisco look like a bargain.

Also, china doesn't have a property tax, so you can just buy an apartment and sit on it forever, there is no economic pressure (as a property tax is) to put it to productive use.

[aianus]

You can't buy land forever in China the way you buy land in the US. You can only get a 70 years 'land use grant'.

[seanmcdirmid]

No one expects that to hold, but even if it does, the US has property taxes most everywhere, and you'd eventually pay for your land again and again just by owning it.

It is speculated that China will drop the land use grant when they institute a real property tax.