Risk characterization and proposals for sustainable development during financial crisis: a study of real estate enterprises in Wuhan

The purpose of this paper is to seek an effective solution for promoting sustainable development of the real estate industry (RE!) during the period of this global financial crisis. Methods of case studies, interview survey and questionnaire analysis are employed. Based on a recent survey of real estate enterprises in Wuhan, this paper list the critical risks and discuss its reasons. Current REI risks include: rapid decline in the attractiveness of the industry, risk of a negative chain reaction, ill-suited assets-liabilities structure of the enterprises, low turnover rate of the industry, unconsciousness of risk prevention and risk management system, unethical business practices on market competition, insufficient investment in science and technology and the conflicts of public policy. The above-mentioned risks to some extent out of control because of the negative influence on which the global financial crisis exert. These definitely pose a grave threat to the sustainable development of REI. It is suggested to accelerate the marketization of the land use, to improve the efficiency of administrative examination and approval, the government-subsidized houses policy need to be regulated to keep these houses' trade-off in a closed cycle operation, to increase investment on science and technology research and promote its application, to reform local financial policies, to strengthen accurate research on the related field. Last, enterprises should adjust its strategies promptly.