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China's once free-spending property buyers are now cautious about their real-estate purchases amid the country's post-COVID economic slump.VCG/Getty Images China's property market is a huge part of the economy, but it's now in a deep slump. Beijing has been cracking down on excessive debt and speculation in the property market since 2020. Authorities are now trying to boost the property market by encouraging consumption. When Chinese President Xi Jinping proclaimed, "Houses are for living in and not for speculation," in October 2017, the statement was met with stupendous applause in a red-hot real-estate market.The mantra popularized by Xi has been an official fixture in major official communications since 2016, when Beijing was seeking to cool the sizzling property market, according to Bloomberg.