India, May 3 -- The default of Evergrande, one of China's largest developers, set off a chain of defaults among developers, triggering the ongoing property market crisis in China.

While analysts frequently attribute the crisis to China's tax system, land finance, state intervention and various other factors, recent University of Michigan research has revealed an often overlooked aspect-the concentrated nature of the real estate industry.

The research, led by Lan Deng, professor of urban and regional planning, examined China's real estate industry from the early 2000s to 2018. It found that the industry became increasingly concentrated, with large firms accounting for a growing share of the country's housing production, which played a si...