The Unassuming Economist

On cross-country:

• Could housing crack before inflation does? And a contrarian view on oil – FT

On the US:    

• The Red Hot Housing Market: the Role of Policy and Implications for Housing Affordability – Fed
• Biden administration to fight racial bias in U.S. real estate appraisals – Reuters
• Treasury Shifts $377 Million Among States as Pandemic Housing Aid Dries Up. The Biden administration pulled back the aid from states and counties with unspent funds and diverted it to four states pressing for more: California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois. – New York Times
• Warning lights start to flash on US housing – ING
• Housing finance reform: The path forward gets rolling – Brookings
• Houses and Cars Have Taken Over the Economy. People are milking both bubbles for cash while the sun shines. – Bloomberg
• Falling home prices? It’s only likely in these 13 housing markets, says CoreLogic – Fortune
• How the pandemic housing market spurred buyer’s remorse across America – NPR
• What’s Driving Home Price Growth in 2022? The housing market has been red hot, but if you’re looking to buy in 2022, there is good news: the market may cool down slightly. – Freddie Mac
• Housing Crunch Turns Employers Into Landlords. It’s a new twist on the old concept of company towns. “If you call anybody, they’re all buying houses for their staff,” says Kim Jensen, a Wisconsin restaurateur. – Bloomberg
• When It Comes to Inflation, Our Focus Should Be On the Cost of Housing. The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates — but Congress has a chance to bring real relief. – Politico
• There still aren’t enough houses – Axios 
• Can We Untie Real Estate and Employment? – The Big Picture
• San Francisco Rents Barely Changed During Covid Housing Boom. NYC also saw modest rent growth, at about 4%: Zillow data. Renters in major cities still pay well above national average – Bloomberg 
• Billionaire MacKenzie Scott gives $436m for US affordable housing. Scott, who was formerly married to Jeff Bezos, is part of group of billionaires promising to donate more than half their wealth – The Guardian
• Key facts about housing affordability in the U.S. – Pew Research Center
• The US’s top housing authority just declared housing a human right – Quartz  
• The real estate evangelist — why buy one home when you can buy 100? – FT

On China

• China Says Housing Prices Are Stable, but Developers See Significant Declines. One reason for diverging picture is the composition of the official data, economists and analysts say – Wall Street Journal

On other countries:  

• [Australia] Early Signs Point to Downturn in Sydney Property Prices After 27% Rise – Bloomberg
• [Australia] Interest rate rise threatens Australia’s booming housing market. Owners rush to cash in as prices in even sleepy towns rocket after city residents search for more space – FT
• [Germany] What Is Adler and Why Is It Fueling Fears About Real Estate? – Bloomberg
• [United Arab Emirates] Dubai Property Market Set to Consolidate 2021 Gains, S&P Says – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] Average house price in Great Britain exceeds £350,000 for first time. Asking prices up 1.7% in March, biggest monthly rise for this time of year in 18 years, according to Rightmove – The Guardian
• [United Kingdom] Where next for the private rented sector? – Social Market Foundation