The Unassuming Economist

From a NBER working paper by Amir Kermani & Francis Wong:

“We document the existence of a racial gap in realized housing returns that is an order of magnitude larger than disparities arising from housing costs alone, and is driven almost entirely by differences in distressed home sales (i.e. foreclosures and short sales). Black and Hispanic homeowners are both more likely to experience a distressed sale and to live in neighborhoods where distressed sales erase more house value. Importantly, absent financial distress, houses owned by minorities do not appreciate at slower rates than houses owned by non-minorities. Racial differences in income stability and liquid wealth explain a large share of the differences in distress. We use quasi experimental variation in loan modifications to show that policies that restructure mortgages for distressed minorities can increase housing returns and reduce the racial wealth gap.”

On cross-country:

• Taking the Global Housing Market’s Temperature: Is It Running a Fever (Again)? – Dallas FED
• Can lending controls solve the problem of unaffordable housing? More central banks are tightening curbs on risky lending. But that is unlikely to make housing much cheaper – The Economist
• For Many Families World-Wide, a Dream Home Is Out of Reach. Calls for action gain support, but policy makers are worried about existing homeowners and the global recovery – Wall Street Journal
• America Risks an ‘Evergrande Moment’. Like China, most of the developed nations have relied too much on property to fuel growth. – Wall Street Journal
• When You’re Locked Out (or Priced Out) of Home – Bloomberg 
• Russian Billionaire Behind Top Builder Wants to Disrupt Housing – Bloomberg

On the US:   

• Beware the backlash as financiers muscle into rental property. As rents soar, so do the prospects of a regulatory crackdown – The Economist
• Building the future depends on building more housing – Axios
• Housing Vouchers in Economic Recovery Bill Would Sharply Cut Homelessness, Housing Instability – Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• How Housing Industries Keeps Racism Alive – Bloomberg

On China:

• How a housing downturn could wreck China’s growth model. Evergrande’s woes expose the economy’s unhealthy dependence on property – The Economist
• China Tells Bankers to Support Property Market, Homebuyers – Bloomberg
• China’s Housing Sector Risks Falling Into Bear Market, Citi Says – Bloomberg
• China Oversees Evergrande Accounts to Ensure Housing Gets Built – Bloomberg
• Chinese cities seize Evergrande presales to block potential misuse of funds. State intervention gathers pace as second bond deadline looms for indebted property developer – FT
• PBOC Vows ‘Healthy’ Property Market Amid Evergrande Crisis – Bloomberg
• China’s Property Sector Has Bigger Problems Than Evergrande. Chinese economic troubles may come far faster than the markets expect. – Foreign Policy

On other countries:  

• [Australia] Australian housing borrowing booms, regulators ready new lending rules – Reuters
• [United Kingdom] UK house prices forecast to rise by up to 3.5% a year between 2022 and 2024. Summer 2021 marked peak growth but race for space will continue, says estate agent Hamptons – The Guardian