For two years, bad news has kept piling on for Chinese property developers.

The nation’s worsening credit crisis has led to defaults, failure to deliver homes on time and an unrelenting market selloff. Now a new phenomenon is happening: Builders’ founders are leaving.

Longfor Group Holdings' Wu Yajun resigned on Friday as executive director and chair, shortly after Soho China’s Pan Shiyi quit in September. While Wu cited health reasons, the timing has startled analysts.