New Delhi, Aug. 22 -- Evergrande is gone from the stock market. Its founder may spend the rest of his life in prison. The apartments are another matter.

China has spent five years trying to clean up the wreckage of its property bust, including finishing homes that buyers paid for before developers ran out of money. Government programs had helped deliver about 7.5 million presold homes by the end of 2025, according to the World Bank. It estimates that represented only 15% to 40% of China's total stock of presold but unfinished housing.

That matters beyond the families waiting for keys. Chinese developers traditionally sold apartments before construction was complete, using buyers' money to help finance building. Evergrande's 2021 default...