The Unassuming Economist

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• Is the Rent Freeze to Blame for Distress in NYC’s Rent-Stabilized Housing? – Fiscal Policy Institute
• Rent Control Ballot Initiatives Won Almost Everywhere. In California, New Jersey, Maine, and Minnesota, voters opted to cap rents and impose more restrictions on landlords. – Reason
• Financing Cost-Rent Housing with Below-Market Capital – Joint Center for Housing Studies
• How Boise Became One of America’s Hottest Rental Markets. Rent prices in the Idaho capital are up 8% this year, as new supply dwindles and the AI boom attracts new residents – Wall Street Journal
• November ICE Mortgage Monitor: Annual home price growth was 1.0% in October. Negative Equity a Concern in Florida and Texas – Calculated Risk
• Q3 NY Fed Report: Mortgage Originations by Credit Score, Foreclosures Decrease – Calculated Risk
• Household Debt Delinquencies Rise as Mortgage Performance Weakens – NAHB
• Significantly Weaker Demand for Residential Mortgages and CRE Loans in Third Quarter – NAHB

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:     

• Why Investors Are Searching for Hope in Home Builders. D.R. Horton, PulteGroup and Lennar have all outperformed since Tuesday’s midterm elections. – Wall Street Journal
• The ‘Blue Wave’ Swept Top Homebuilding States. What Happens Next? – Realtor.com
• Remodeling Activity Holds Flat in Second Quarter Amid Housing Slowdown – NAHB
• Residential Building Worker Wage Growth Rebounds, but Real Wages Continue to Decline – NAHB
• What Can States Do to Reform Land Use and Support Factory-Built Housing? – Terner Center
• Housing Advocates Press Congress to Support Permitting Overhaul – Bloomberg 
• Second Look at Local Housing Markets in October – Calculated Risk
• High Frequency Data: Inventory Up, Demand Down Year-over-year – Calculated Risk
• NAR: Existing-Home Sales Decreased to 3.75 million SAAR in October; New Cycle Low. Median House Prices Increased 0.4% Year-over-Year – Calculated Risk

On other developments:     

• How Zillow is growing through one of the toughest housing markets in a generation. Housing conditions deteriorated sharply in Q3, but Zillow kept growing and outperforming the industry because our advantages reinforce each other – Zillow
• Hiring Rebounds in October, but Residential Construction Employment Declines – NAHB
• Early Look at Local Housing Markets in October – Calculated Risk
• Seattle’s Newest Progressive City Councilwoman Wants To Make Building Easier. Nilu Jenks campaigned on deregulating zoning, making permitting more efficient, and reforming the city’s broken mandatory affordability program. – Reason
• Trump failed to make US housing affordable again – Reuters
• U.S. Homeless Population Had Record Drop in 2025. The Department of Housing and Urban Development credited President Trump, while homeless advocacy groups said that so-called Housing First policies of his predecessors played a part. – New York Times 
• Starter homes cost $1 million in a record 242 U.S. cities—proof the affordability crisis has hit the homes meant for first-time buyers – Fortune
• Housing Week Ahead: Hottest Markets, Inflation, and Existing-Home Sales – Realtor.com
• Overregulation Makes Housing Unaffordable. Government is largely to blame for high home prices. – Wall Street Journal
• How ‘Buy American’ Rules Are Slowing Affordable Housing Construction. Strict enforcement of rules on sourcing US materials is stalling projects and escalating costs, affordable housing developers say. – Bloomberg
• Building a Robust Housing Data System for the 21st Century. To improve housing affordability and stability, the United States needs a coordinated, sustained approach to building data infrastructure. – New America
• Which generation has had it easiest for homebuying? New research shows a shift. Millennials had a better housing market than boomers. An analysis shows how the economic shifts of recent years have changed that. – Washington Post
• ATTOM Reveals July as Best Month to Buy a Home Based on Lowest Premium above AVM – ATTOM

On cross-country:

• Paul Krugman backs temporary rent caps to curb housing speculation in Europe. – Yahoo Finance
• Square Meter Prices by Country and City – Global Property Guide

Working papers and conferences:  

• Conference: Residential Realities: Understanding Challenges and Considering Solutions in the U.S. Housing Market on November 13-14 – Boston Fed
• Insuring Landlords – NBER
• Short-Term Incidence of Property Tax Hikes on Professionally Managed Apartments – Evidence from Philadelphia – Philadelphia Fed
• Priced Out of Parenthood: Housing Costs, Household Formation, and Fertility in Spain – VoxEU
• ‘Property Values’ Review: Paving Paradise. The heart of America’s housing affordability problem is the excessive regulation of land. – Wall Street Journal

On Australia and New Zealand:

• [Australia] Has Australia’s push for lower house prices gone too far? Canberra wanted to cool one of the world’s hottest property markets – FT
• [Australia] Banks set for reckoning as housing storm builds – AFR
• [Australia] House prices fall for seventh consecutive month as interest rates dent demand. Centre of downturn shifts away from Sydney and Melbourne, but after such strong growth most homeowners still sit on sizeable gains – The Guardian
• [Australia] Australia’s Housing Slump Deepens as RBA Prepares Another Rate Rise. The central bank is expected to raise the official cash rate to its highest level in 18 years – Wall Street Journal
• [Australia] Australia’s Home Prices Fall Further Ahead of Expected Rate Hike – Bloomberg
• [New Zealand] How Living Costs, Jobs and Housing Are Shaping New Zealand’s Election – Bloomberg
• [New Zealand] New Zealand Posts Biggest Annual House-Price Drop in 19 Months – Bloomberg

On other countries:  

• [Canada] Here’s how new B.C. government can turn housing promises into real reform – Fraser Institute
• [Germany] Apartment prices below prior-year level for the first time in more than two years – KIEL
• [India] Building Resilient and Affordable Housing in the Hindu Kush Himalayas – Development Asia
• [Israel] Israel is building homes at a record pace. So why aren’t prices falling faster? Record inventory of unsold homes and growing developer discounts point to a cooling market, but experts say data hides demographic realities – Times of Israel
• [Portugal] Portugal police storm housing protest camps in Lisbon, Porto. – DW
• [Portugal] Portuguese housing activists take part in a protest in Lisbon – Reuters
• [Spain] Priced Out of Parenthood: Housing Costs, Household Formation, and Fertility in Spain – VoxEU
• [Spain] Spanish police clear remaining housing protesters from Madrid encampment – Reuters
• [United Kingdom] Housing Housebuilding is the best way to address the UK’s cost of living crisis. The Budget showed again that Burnham and Healey are ignoring the laws of supply and demand – FT
• [United Kingdom] UK House Prices Stagnant as Loan Costs Bite, Nationwide Says – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] New scheme will struggle to deliver ‘the homes buyers want’. Many first-time purchasers want three-bed houses but Your First Home price caps mean mostly flats will qualify in large parts of country – FT
• [United Kingdom] Britain’s housing market unlikely to recover until 2028, says Savills. House prices forecast to fall by 1.5% next year as Middle East war keeps mortgage rates higher for longer – The Guardian

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• The Outlook for US Housing in 2027 amid Rising Mortgage Rates – Goldman Sachs
• The Housing Market Is a Mess. So Why Aren’t Home Prices Falling? – Barron’s
• America’s renters are in serious trouble. Several gauges of their financial health are flashing red – The Economist
• Los Angeles Rental Report 2026Q3: Renters Catch a Break as New Supply Pushes Rents Lower; Buying Still Costs Nearly $5,000 More a Month – Realtor.com
• New York City Rental Report 2026Q3: Squeezed Both Ways—NYC Renters Face Record High Rents and 7% Mortgage Rates – Realtor.com
• Asking Rents have likely Bottomed – Calculated Risk
• Freddie Mac House Price Index Increased in September; Up 1.9% Year-over-year. Punta Gorda House Prices Down 18.7% from Recent Peak, Austin Down 16.7%, Cape Coral Down 15.4% – Calculated Risk
• Mortgage Rates Climb in October Amid Accelerating Inflation – NAHB
• Mortgage Applications Decline as Higher Rates Boost ARM Share – NAHB
• Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey; Down 19% Year-over-year – Calculated Risk

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:     

• Home Sales Outlook Falls, But Still-High Prices Could Support Spending – Richmond Fed
• Inside the $311 Million Land Grab to Create One of America’s Priciest Homes. A mystery billionaire bought 19 acres in prime Naples. Local real-estate agents say it’s a harbinger of things to come for the Florida coastal city – Wall Street Journal
• Student Housing Construction Rises in the Third Quarter – NAHB
• Just About Every Part of Building a House Is Getting More Expensive. Iran war, tariffs and AI build-out have pushed up costs of materials, labor and borrowing – Wall Street Journal
• Altos: Single-Family Inventory Back to 2019 Levels – Calculated Risk
• Private Residential Construction Slips as Remodeling Weakens – NAHB
• Interior Finishes: The Most Time-Consuming Stage of Single-family Construction – NAHB
• Construction Job Openings Rise in September – NAHB
• October 2026 Monthly Housing Trends: Buyers and Sellers Hit Pause as Rates Surge – Realtor.com

On other developments:     

• Immigration Slowdown Poised to Sharply Reduce Renter Household Growth – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• Housing was bipartisan this year. November could change that. Democratic leaders were willing to compromise with Republicans on housing this year. A rising left-flank wants them to make fewer concessions. – Politico
• Fannie and Freddie: Single Family Delinquency Rates Increased in September – Calculated Risk
• Housing’s Share of the Economy Falls Again as It Continues to Face Headwinds – NAHB 
• Half of Americans’ Spending Goes to Housing and Food, Most in 15 Years – Bloomberg
• Two Innovative Models Expanding Affordable Housing in the Southeast – Atlanta Fed
• The metros where the hidden costs of owning a home are highest in 2026, according to Zillow. Maintenance, taxes, and insurance add $18,883 to $25,111 a year in 10 of the 30 metros Zillow and Thumbtack studied for 2026. – Quartz
• Homeowners Use Savings, Equity, and Insurance to Fund Remodeling – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• Shadow ‘accidental landlord’ housing market supply could be looming, says giant institutional landlord. Invitation Homes CEO Dallas Tanner: ‘What do the mom and pops do, that are maybe sitting on a home they’re trying to sell? Does that come back into play as well?’ – Fast Company
• The Housing Ballot Initiatives To Watch. Across the country, voters will decide whether to shrink minimum lot sizes, roll back environmental review laws, and cut property taxes. – Reason 
• Housing Since 2020: A Visual Story. Booms, Busts, and Bystanders – Home Economics
• The U.S. housing market just flashed a major warning sign. Here’s what the latest numbers reveal. Homes under contract plunged 10.5% in October, the biggest annual decline in nearly three years, as elevated mortgage rates pushed buyers to the sidelines. – Fast Company
• Zillow Traffic Slides as High Mortgage Rates Freeze Housing Market. The company swung to a third-quarter loss of $158 million, down from a profit of $10 million the year prior – Wall Street Journal
• Workers Building Affordable Housing Deserve Good Wages and Benefits. Cities and states are trying to make sure that the workers who build affordable housing can afford a decent life. – Center for American Progress
• US Voters Approve $67 Billion of Borrowing for Schools, Housing – Bloomberg

From Paul Krugman:

“Oh, my. Bill Nordhaus has died. He was a great economist, an inspiring teacher, a wonderful academic citizen — and my first mentor. As an undergrad I took a seminar taught by Bill and Tjalling Koopmans on the economics of exhaustible resources. Bill liked my term paper well enough to hire me as a research assistant on his classic 1973 paper “The Allocation of Energy Resources.” 

Bill taught me how to be an economist, how to puzzle out a complex real issue and try to frame a model to make sense of that issue. He also showed me that economics can and should be a mission as well as a job. I’ll write more about his contribution and what it was like to work with him soon, probably after the midterms, when I have time to do it right.”

On cross-country:

• Spain’s housing quandary stretches worldwide – Reuters
• Public Hearing on housing markets without speculation – European Parliament

On China:

• China Property Woes Bring Strains to Huafa’s $62 Billion of Debt – Bloomberg
• A Tale of Two Chinas. China’s economy is deeply unbalanced, with a battered real-estate sector, weak consumption, and stark regional disparities coexisting with dynamic tech and export sectors. But provided that political stability is maintained, China could continue to be a global powerhouse even as hundreds of millions of its citizens remain poor. – Project Syndicate

On Australia and New Zealand:

• [Australia] Developers warn federal aluminium tariff will send housing to the wall – AFR
• [Australia] Banks Loosen Loan Approvals in Housing Slump – Bloomberg
• [New Zealand] Homes selling for less than asking price – but only just, Realestate.co.nz says – RNZ

On other countries:  

• [Canada] Carney’s Housing Agency Vows to Build as Canada Prices Plunge – Bloomberg
• [Canada] Price of new single-detached homes in Vancouver 5X more than construction cost; 2X more in Calgary – Fraser Institute
• [Germany] You can’t confiscate your way out of a housing shortage. Threatening property rights is a peculiar way to encourage more construction. – Washington Post
• [Germany] German home prices stagnate as interest rates pressure market, IW data show – Reuters
• [Hong Kong] Hong Kong’s ‘Apartment Horror’ Films Skewer Its Ghastly Property Market. In one of the world’s least affordable housing markets, high-density housing is a backdrop for exploring superstition and socioeconomic anxiety. – New York Times
• [Hong Kong] Why Hong Kong rents are hitting records while home price gains lose momentum – South China Morning Post
• [Portugal] Thousands rally outside Portugal’s parliament over housing crisis, police operations – Reuters
• [United Arab Emirates] Dubai Real Estate Market Insights | Q3 2026 – REIDIN
• [United Kingdom] UK Homebuilders Fall as First Time Buyer Support Disappoints – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] Autumn Budget 2026: key messages for homeowners, landlords and first-time buyers. Even though it only applies to first-time buyers purchasing a new-build property, from a housing perspective by far the most important element of the Budget was the clarification of how the Your First Home scheme will operate. – Savills