Notice...

...how its defined as a "bubble" now. Some say bubbles only exist in retrospect, but for those who have been subjected to my lucubration over the past 5 years, this is only the prelude to a much larger act in this drama.

From the WSJ...

BY BOB DAVIS

BEIJING—After years of housing prices gone wild, China's property bubble is starting to deflate.

Residential prices are heading downward in some major cities, damping some undesired real-estate speculation but raising the prospect that the Chinese economy may slow more rapidly than anticipated with profound consequences for global growth.

Real estate is a foundation of China's phenomenal growth record in the past two decades, and its health is crucial to China's construction, steel and cement sectors. Real estate is also a favored investment of Chinese looking to get better returns than bank deposits pay.