The Chinese Property Liberalization in the Nineties

Private property was more or less outlawed up until the nineties. Now it's at the root of the way that chinese local governments raise all their money. The state still owns all the land in China, but this has made it extremely lucrative and useful for local governments. And it's also given them this massive incentive to let land prices rise as much as they possibly can. Housing has been the guaranteed, worth while, reliable, high return investment.