But the problem is that Beijing has yet to break the vicious circle in the housing market. The boycotts undermine confidence of new homebuyers, which reduces the cash flow of troubled developers and causes more of the type of construction delays that motivated the boycotts in the first place.

Already, the top 100 private developers, which account for more than a third of the projects under construction, are experiencing liquidity risks, according to Goldman Sachs. Reflecting this risk, about 73% of China's high-yield property bonds are trading below 35 cents on the dollar, a level deemed as distressed by Goldman's analysts. Left unsolved, it could quickly create problems in the banking system.