Professor Liu Zhibiao, Dean of Yangtze IDEI, raised the topic of the online discussion: “The Role of Real Estate as An ‘Energy Industry’: Historical Position, Current Dilemma and Future Prospect”, and encouraged Yangtze IDEI experts and scholars to exchange their opinions on the topic by providing relevant background information of real estate in the three developed countries of the US, Germany and Japan for reference. In this article, we have compiled the views of experts and scholars in political, business, academic and research circles to share with you. If you have any interesting ideas or want to add to or comment on the author’s opinions, please leave your comments below. Background of developed countries: United States: Although real estate is a leading industry of economic development, land and real estate are generally not regarded as means of maintaining and increasing the value of wealth. Statistics show that in the past 100 years, the annual rate of return of American stocks has reached 9%, but the value of land has only increased by about 24% (inflation-adjusted) in the 100 years from 1900 to 2000. Germany: The government stresses that the manufacturing industry has an irreplaceable position and role in strengthening the country, and the real estate market mainly serves for social welfare purposes. Therefore, housing is not a freely tradable asset in Germany, in order to prevent improper speculation on real estate after pure marketization. Between 1997 and 2007, housing price increased by an average of 1% per year, while commodity price level rose by 2% on average per year, indicating that its housing prices have actually fallen by 1% per year, and thus German housing cannot be used as a means of maintaining and increasing the value of wealth. Japan: Prior to 1985, Japan adopted the same real estate policy as Germany. After 1985, with the increase of foreign exchange reserves and the continuous appreciation of Japanese yen, the Japanese government began to allow free trading of real estate as financial assets, and the stock market also gradually developed and thrived. As a result, funds have been flowing into the constantly rising real estate and stock markets. After the bursting of the Japanese real estate bubble in 1990, the Japanese economy began a long-term recession.
