The Unassuming Economist

On cross-country:

• Why is it so difficult to tackle the lack of affordable housing? – LSE
• There’s a desperate need for housing, so why isn’t more being built? – World Economic Forum
• What has caused the global housing crisis – and how can we fix it? – World Economic Forum
• The global house price boom may be weakening – Global Property Guide

On the US:    

• The Economic Effects of Real Estate Investors – IE Business School
• Adapting to Flood Risk: Evidence from a Panel of Global Cities – NBER
• What economic policies prevented dire housing outcomes during COVID-19? – Brookings
• Waiting for Mortgage Rates to Fall? Don’t Hold Your Breath. The days of freakishly cheap loans are probably gone for good, and rates might even go up some more before they fall again. – Bloomberg
• Landlords Ready War Chests to Buy in Cooling US Housing Market. Rental companies see potential discounts ahead from homebuilders as higher mortgage rates sideline regular buyers. – Bloomberg
• Investors Bought Record Share of Homes as Mortgage Costs Climbed. Rising rates began to cool the housing market in the first quarter, but investors proved more resistant. – Bloomberg
• Rapidly Rising Building Materials and Freight Prices Push Construction Costs Higher – NAHB
• Real-Estate Firms Redfin and Compass Shed Jobs as Housing Market Slows. Companies say demand is slowing as mortgage rates rise – Wall Street Journal and New York Times
• Housing Market Cooldown Will Only Lead to More Dysfunction. The Fed had to hit the brakes on overheated home sales to control inflation, but it will be even harder now to meet future demand. – Bloomberg
• The U.S. needs more homes, but builders may be slowing construction – NPR
• U.S. Home Equity Hits Highest Level on Record—$27.8 Trillion. Soaring home prices have driven up home equity, but rising interest rates are making it more expensive to use – Wall Street Journal
• Twilight of the NIMBY. Suburban homeowners like Susan Kirsch are often blamed for worsening the nation’s housing crisis. That doesn’t mean she’s giving up her two-decade fight against 20 condos. – New York Times
• What Drove Home Price Growth and Can it Continue? – Freddie Mac
• EGC Affiliate Spotlight: Sun Kyong Lee. During a postdoctoral fellowship at EGC, the economist applied machine learning to digitize real estate transaction records and other archival data to shed light on the links between urban infrastructure investments, land use policy, and inequality. – Yale
• The Great Recession misled millennials: It made them think high home prices will eventually come down – Business Insider
• Rents climbed, a pain for tenants and policymakers alike. – New York Times
• Housing Perspectives: Short-Term Benefits of Emergency Rental Assistance Extend Beyond Housing – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• Warehousing Giants Are Consolidating in a Shifting Real-Estate Market. Industry observers say red-hot industrial property demand is cooling and some developers are reining in their rapid expansion plans – Wall Street Journal
• Does Affordable Housing Make the Surrounding Neighborhood Less Affordable? A Urban Institute research brief found that affordable housing developments in Alexandria, Virginia, were associated with a small increase in surrounding property values. – Reason 
• Americans Are Building Vacation-Home Empires With Easy-Money Loans. Selling risky mortgages based on volatile per-night Airbnb income could end badly for communities, borrowers, and investors. – Bloomberg

On other countries:  

• [Canada] Bank of Canada says inflation to dictate rate moves, not housing prices – Reuters
• [Canada] Home Prices in Canada Fall Again as Mortgage Pain Intensifies. Benchmark price dips to C$882,900; Ontario markets hit. Ratio of sales to new listings falls to three-year low – Bloomberg
• [Israel] Israel to boost building starts in bid to rein in soaring housing costs – Reuters
• [Korea] Young South Korean home buyers test Yoon’s vow to resolve affordability crisis – Reuters
• [New Zealand] New Zealand’s housing price boom cools as rate rises bite. Country is a test case for how property markets around the world will respond to higher interest rates – FT
• [New Zealand] New Zealand house prices fall as credit conditions hurt -REINZ – Reuters
• [Spain] Beset by uncertainties, Spanish borrowers lock in home loan rates – Reuters
• [United Kingdom] The Church of England wants to help solve the housing crisis. But building things in Britain is never straightforward – The Economist
• [United Kingdom] The ugly truth behind our rigged housing system – politicians live in fear of owners. The latest help-to-buy scheme will do little but fuel the rising prices that ministers bank on – The Guardian
• [United Kingdom] Daryl Fairweather On the Tax That Could Solve the Housing Crisis. Time to try a land value tax? – Bloomberg