Abstract
The house-building industry has three main functional sectors: residential land development, housing production, and house marketing and sales. It also has close links with hundreds of upstream and downstream industries in an economy. While the house-building industries in North America and Western Europe are relatively mature, those found in many parts of the Asia-Pacific region are still under development. Despite their short average history, the house-building industries in the region are growing fast and have been the engines for economic development in the region. This overview of the house-building industries in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China, Thailand, and Malaysia focuses on important differences in the maturity and pace of development across jurisdictions. Fast economic growth in the less developed countries has offered opportunities for intensive development in the industry. Yet, issues like quality assurance and environmental sustainability have posed challenges to the house-building sector in the region.