Does it really matter if you have a 1% or 3% rate on your bank account? At the end of it, because of the inflation rate, you still have a negative real rate for deposits which would promote investing elsewhere (like apartments).

I don't see anywhere where he said everyone was speculating on property as a savings mechanism. Obviously some parts of China are very poor. The fact remains though that people are choosing to speculate in property, which is logical given the negative real rates in China.