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Students Hear How China Fits Into U.S. Housing Picture
In a meeting arranged by NAHB’s International Affairs, 20 bilingual graduate business students from the University of Shanghai School of Finance and Economics visited the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. earlier this month for an update on the U.S. housing market.
Leading the discussions, Dave Crowe, NAHB’s senior staff vice president for regulatory and housing finance policy, told the group that most home building components in the U.S. come from domestic sources. Among the exceptions are concrete and steel, he said, and the prices of those two commodities have been driven up by the construction boom in China. Rising global demand has also slowed the transportation of these materials to the U.S. by boat, he said.
As a consumer of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt and securities, Crowe added, China has been good for the home financing industry in the U.S.
In a give-and-take exchange, the students said that property and mortgage finance have become big topics of discussion in China, where many people are now seeking to own more than one home. Green building has also emerged as a topic of interest.
The increased amount of impervious surface left by high-density residential construction and its environmental impact on global warming and air quality — a subject with which the Shanghai students are personally acquainted — was addressed by Helen Liu, NAHB’s public housing economist.
Crowe told the students that the new housing stimulus law aimed at reviving the nation’s housing markets — starting out with incentives for first-time home buyers — would ultimately have a healthy effect on the global economy.
A resurgence in home buying activity will not just stimulate the local economy, Crowe said. New home owners subsequently purchase items that open up opportunities for both domestic and international markets, he said.
For more information on international housing resources available from NAHB, e-mail Susanna Connaughton, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8415.
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