A Real Estate Crash in China -- Literally

Mish, writing at his phenomenally successful Global Economic Analysis site, has the true tale of a real estate crash in China. A real crash, that is.

Here are some images Bill Hopen, my sculptor friend sent me regarding a real estate crash in China... Yes, It's a 12 story building lying flat on the ground.

(1) An underground garage was being dug on the south side, to a depth of 4.6 meters.
(2) The excavated dirt was being piled up on the north side, to a height of 10 meters.
(3) The building experienced uneven lateral pressure from south and north.
(4) This resulted in a lateral pressure of 3,000 tons, which was greater than what the pilings could tolerate. Thus the building toppled over in the southerly direction.

If the buildings were closer together there would also have been a domino effect.

Note the hollow concrete piers.

Synopsis of Event

Bill Hopen writes:

Mish, this photographic image is so metaphorical, it could only have been more symbolic if a domino effect had occurred. I think of the financial collapse of the families that own these condos and the impact to the bank underpinning the construction loans, then I think of the whole city collapsing without the buildings physically falling over.

All my young in-laws are rushing in to buy condos putting life savings down as well as laying down additional borrowed family cash down and then paying way more to buy each month than it would cost them to rent. It's as if the boom crash in the west never happened and they believe themselves immune.

For more from Bill Hopen please see Inside China: A Sculptor's View

Hat tip: ILB.