Steve Murray on China’s real estate crisis

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a crossover episode with RealTrends’ podcast RealTrending, which showcases the brightest minds in real estate and the housing market. In this episode, Steve Murray, RealTrends advisor and industry stalwart, discusses the real estate crisis in China and the implications it could have for the U.S. real estate industry.

He also shares some of the recent innovations in fintech and how relationships are still the driving force behind the housing industry. 

Here is a preview of the topics Murray discussed. The transcript below has been lightly edited for length and clarity:

Steve Murray: It begs the question: Are there any policy frontiers at the federal or state level that would put a crimp in housing? Well, we don’t know what Washington D.C. and the politicians who govern our country are going to do with the new Biden tax and spending plans, but, in some cases, there are indications they want to heavily tax well-to-do Americans. How heavy that becomes, no one knows right now.

We know from past cycles that, when that happens, it will tend to put a crimp in the investment in real estate as people shift to other asset classes based on higher marginal tax rates.

It behooves people to pay attention to what’s going on, because what happened in China when the government shifted policy is that there was rampant speculation in housing that suddenly got curtailed. All of a sudden, their markets are in a free fall. It does give you pause.

​​HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsrooms that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch. If you have a pitch or an inquiry relating to podcasts, you can reach our team at [email protected].