The Unassuming Economist

On cross-country:

• Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing market risks – BIS
• Global housing markets shrug off the impact of higher rates – Knight Frank
• Most European Housing Markets to See Modest Price Growth in 2024 – Fitch Ratings
• European mortgage market set for lowest growth in a decade. High rates and inflation and slowing economies have taken their toll on demand, finds EY report – FT
• Asia’s housing market pain: why Japan could be next. China’s property crisis is just one of many signs that Asia’s housing sector troubles are far from over. Japan could be in for a shock if a shift from years of ultra-loose monetary policy pushes up lending rates, hitting home loans hard – South China Morning Post

Working papers and conferences:

• Feeling Rich, Feeling Poor: Housing Wealth Effects and Consumption in Europe – IMF
• Mortgage Debt and the Consumption Response to Fiscal Transfers – FHFA
• The Effect of Land Leverage on House Sale Probability and Price – SSRN
• The Escalating Housing Crisis in Europe: An Inexorable Progression – SSRN

On the US—developments on house prices, rent, permits and mortgage:    

• US market distortions put spotlight back on 30-year mortgage debate. Americans love long, fixed-rate loans but they can make homes less affordable for low income earners – FT
• The “Home ATM” Mostly Closed in Q3. Mortgage Equity Withdrawal (MEW) was low in Q3 – Calculated Risk
• Mortgage rates are sinking, but don’t try to time the housing market by waiting for them to fall further, BofA exec says – Business Insider
• Mortgage Rates in US Fall for Sixth Week, Dropping Closer to 7%. Average for 30-year loans is at lowest level since August. Steeper declines needed to reinvigorate demand, economist says – Bloomberg
• Q3 Update: Delinquencies, Foreclosures and REO. REO: lender Real Estate Owned – Calculated Risk
• Will House Prices Go Down? Goldman Sachs Gives Housing Market Prediction – Newsweek

On the US—other developments:    

• The Math for Buying a Home No Longer Works. These Charts Show You Why. What does it take to buy a home in the U.S.? A lot more than it did before the Federal Reserve raised interest rates – Wall Street Journal
• New Legislation Proposes to Take Wall Street Out of the Housing Market. A bill introduced in the House and Senate would prevent hedge funds from owning single-family houses in the United States. – New York Times
• US Homebuilding Is Weathering the Fed’s Hikes – Bloomberg
• Housing Markets Facing Greater Risk Of Downturns Clustered In California, New Jersey And Illinois – ATTOM
• Another Housing Crash? These Are the Markets Most at Risk of a Downturn – Realtor.com
• 2023 Has Been The Least Affordable Year for Homebuying on Record—But 2024 Is Looking Up – Redfin
• Remarks by National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard Addressing the Challenge of Housing Affordability At the National Housing Conference – White House 
• 2nd Look at Local Housing Markets in November with Comparison to 2019 – Calculated Risk
• Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-December – Calculated Risk
• Part 2: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-December – Calculated Risk
• Housing Affordability Conditions Tumble in October 2023 – National Association of Realtors
• Homeowner Mobility Stalls Amid Rising Interest Rates – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• Seasonal Influence Eases U.S. Foreclosure Activity, Marking Slight Decline – ATTOM
• Economists: Turnaround in Home Sales Likely in 2024 – National Association of Realtors

On China:

• Country Garden Staves Off Worsening of Debt Crisis With Payment. China developer repaid 800 million yuan note ahead of schedule. Local firm stake exit aimed at helping offshore restructuring – Bloomberg

On other countries:  

• [Australia] Australia Will Raise Fees for Foreigners Buying Existing Houses – Bloomberg
• [Australia] Australia to Cut Record High Migration as Housing Crisis Bites. New strategy to bring in skilled workers and control migration. Government says intake will return to pre-pandemic levels – Bloomberg
• [Australia] Australia’s Housing Costs Have Hit New Highs. Officials See Migrants as Part of the Problem. Many newcomers have settled in cities where housing is in short supply, raising concerns about property affordability – Wall Street Journal
• [Australia] Australian Builders Reject Moves to Sting Foreign Investors in Housing – Wall Street Journal
• [Australia] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: Australia – BIS
• [Australia] Shifting the needle on the housing crisis: will Chalmers’ plan to slug foreign home buyers be enough? Treasurer has announced plans to triple fees foreigners pay when buying established homes and to double penalties for leaving a property vacant – The Guardian
• [Australia] Australian Property Forecast: What’s In Store For 2024? – Forbes
• [Belgium] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: Belgium – BIS
• [Canada] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: Canada – BIS
• [Canada] Economic progress report: Immigration, housing and the outlook for inflation – Bank of Canada
• [Canada] Bank of Canada urges removal of barriers to home building to cut inflation – Reuters
• [Canada] Canada Revives Wartime Home Strategy to Address Housing Crisis. Thousands of simple ‘Victory Houses’ built starting in ‘40s. New program to add dense homes such as multiplexes, mid-rises – Bloomberg
• [Canada] Bank Watchdog Keeps Rule That’s Slowing Canada’s Mortgage Market. Regulator holds mortgage qualifying rate at existing level. Canada’s housing market faces decades-low affordability – Bloomberg
• [Canada] ‘A buyers’ market with no buyers’: CIBC economist on housing market – Bloomberg
• [France] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: France – BIS
• [Germany] German Housing Crisis Deepens as Slump in New Orders Hits Record. More home builders report suffering from financial strains. Sector confidence falls further, with no turnaround in sight – Bloomberg
• [Hong Kong] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: Hong Kong – BIS
• [Hong Kong] Hong Kong’s property pain may soon get real – Reuters
• [India] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: India – BIS
• [Ireland] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: Ireland – BIS
• [Ireland] Ireland’s housing crisis is a disaster for its people – and a gift to far-right fearmongers. Decades of skewed policy have led to one of Europe’s worst shortages of affordable homes. Now it is being weaponised against refugees – The Guardian
• [Ireland] House prices across the State rise by 2.3% but Dublin down again. Central Statistics Office index records 0.6% decrease in residential property prices in Dublin, while prices outside Dublin are up by 4.5% – The Irish Times
• [Israel] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: Israel – BIS
• [Luxembourg] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: Luxembourg – BIS
• [Mexico] ¿Qué factores impactarán en el crédito hipotecario en el 2024? – El Economista
• [Netherlands] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: Netherlands – BIS
• [New Zealand] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: New Zealand – BIS
• [New Zealand] New Zealand house prices fall but activity up -REINZ – Reuters
• [Singapore] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: Singapore – BIS
• [Singapore] Singapore Narrows the Gap With Hong Kong on Real Estate Deals – Bloomberg
• [Sweden] Swedish Turn Positive on Home Prices After Benchmark Rate Levels Off – Bloomberg
• [Sweden] Sweden Posts Sharp Home-Price Plunge as Rates Hit Global Markets. The Nordic country logged an 11% decline in the year through September, whereas the global average gained slightly, according to Knight Frank. – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] UK Housing Market Gloom Returns After Unexpected Price Rises. Asking prices fell by an unusually large 1.9% in December. Banking group expects 8% drop in mortgage lending next year – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] UK House Prices Fell Sharply in December – Wall Street Journal
• [United Kingdom] Macroprudential policies to mitigate housing. market risks. Country case study: United Kingdom – BIS
• [United Kingdom] Britain needs more houses. Does the industry want to build them? Developers are wary of adding supply to a falling market – The Economist
• [United Kingdom] UK Mortgage Lending Falls Sharply as Arrears Increase, BOE Says. Figures show impact of interest rate hikes on property market. Value of all mortgage loans fell in the third quarter – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] UK Home Asking Prices Are Down 5% From the Peak. Sellers appear to be waking up to higher interest rates. – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] UK mortgage arrears hit six-year high, data shows. More homeowners struggle to meet payments in third quarter as interest rates remain elevated – FT
• [United Kingdom] Outlook improves for UK housing market, property survey finds. Sales expectations rose in November on the back of easing mortgage rates, Rics data shows – FT

On cross-country:

• BIS residential property price statistics, Q2 2023 – BIS
• Housing and credit access – European Central Bank
• Short supply of homes to push global property prices higher at slower pace – Reuters
• Global Prime Residential Forecast – Knight Frank

Working papers and conferences:

• Are Collateral and Lender Screening Efforts Substitutes? – SSRN
• The Unintended Consequences of Home-buying Restriction in China – SSRN
• Short-Term Forecasting Housing Investment: An Averaging Approach from a CEE Country – SSRN
• Housing Regulation and Bubbles – SSRN
• Pricing and Incentives in the Housing Market – SSRN   

On the US—developments on house prices, rent, permits and mortgage:    

• The Most Important Inflation Indicator Shows More Cooling Ahead. Rent Growth in New Leases Continues to Normalize, Signaling Further Upcoming Decelerations in Official Housing Inflation Data – Apricitas Economics
• Home Prices Are Historically High Next to Rents. Don’t Panic. The ratio is well above the levels that preceded the last housing crash. But there might be extenuating circumstances. – Bloomberg
• Inflation Fight Has Come Down to Housing, Chicago Fed’s Goolsbee Says. The policy maker says inflation data released Thursday is where the Fed wants it to be – Wall Street Journal
• Inflation Adjusted House Prices 3.0% Below Peak. Price-to-rent index is 6.9% below recent peak – Calculated Risk
• Freddie Mac House Price Index Increased in October to New High; Up 6.0% Year-over-year. Austin Prices Down 11.2% from Peak Seasonally Adjusted – Calculated Risk
• ICE (Black Knight) Mortgage Monitor: “Home prices continued sending mixed signals in October”. Florida has experienced some of the largest inventory gains in recent months – Calculated Risk
• Mortgage Shoppers: Beware of High-Cost Options – NBER
• Home price appreciation to cool in 2024: Goldman Sachs – Yahoo Finance

On the US—other developments:    

• Home-Mortgage Lending Declines Again Across U.S. During Third Quarter As Mortgage Rates Climb – ATTOM
• FHA First-Time Buyer Homeownership Sustainability: An Update – New York Fed
• Understanding the Generational Gaps in Homeownership – St. Louis Fed 
• 2024 Housing Market Forecast and Predictions: Housing Affordability Finally Begins to Turnaround – Realtor.com
• Move Over Millennials, Gen Z is Driving Rental Demand – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• BofA Report Shows Fewer Prospective Homebuyers Willing to Wait for a Better Market Environment. 62% willing to wait for prices and/or rates to fall before buying a home, down from 85% just six months ago – Bank of America
• Top Housing Markets for 2024 – Realtor.com
• Slowest Housing Market in Years Is Weighing on Consumer Spending. Sofa sellers go bust, prospective homebuyers cut spending. Average household spends $8000 more over two years when moving – Bloomberg
• 1st Look at Local Housing Markets in November with Comparison to 2019. Early data suggests new cycle low for sales in November 2023 – Calculated Risk

On China:

• Restructure or liquidate? Deadline looms for China’s Evergrande. Heavily indebted developer must come up with a plan before crucial court hearing on Monday – FT
• Give us our flats! The angry victims of China’s property crisis. Millions of people are waiting for homes that may never be built – The Economist

On other countries:  

• [Spain] BBVA Research advierte que el “elevado costo de la vivienda” aleja al inversor de Espana – El Observedor
• [Spain] ¿Está desesperado porque no hay vivienda protegida? Estos cambios auguran un resurgimiento de las casas asequibles. La revisión de los precios de venta y alquiler en algunas comunidades debería animar a los promotores a volver a construir este tipo de casas – El Pais
• [Spain] El precio de la vivienda sigue al alza tras encarecerse la obra nueva un 11% en el tercer trimester. La fuerte subida de los pisos a estrenar, la mayor de los últimos 16 años, impide el ajuste en los precios medios, que aumentaron un 4,5% – El Pais
• [Sweden] Swedish Homeowners Increasingly See House Prices Recovering – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] UK house prices likely to fall by 1% next year, says Rightmove. Competition among sellers will increase as mortgage rates settle at ‘elevated’ level, website predicts – The Guardian

On cross-country:

• Housing affordability: a new data set – BIS
• Mortgage rebound slows pace of eurozone credit contraction. Rising interest rates dried up lending in the credit-reliant single currency bloc – FT
• Making our homes greener: Impact of minimum energy efficiency regulations – VoxEU
• These are the world’s most expensive cities. EIU’s cost-of-living index shows where prices are highest – The Economist
• Why Housing is Unaffordable: The Elasticity of Supply – Marginal Revolution

Working papers and conferences:

• The Mortgage Market Research Conference: Call for Papers on May 15-16, 2024 – SSRN
• Research indicates foreign investment in U.S. real estate has underappreciated impacts. Boston Fed economist finds Chinese investment created shock, increased wealth, displaced residents – Boston Fed
• Monetary tightening in the Euro Area: Implications for residential investment – ESRI
• An Anatomy of Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa – World Bank
• Canada’s leadership and housing affordability: Evidence from the Canadian real estate market – Journal Urban Management

On the US—developments on house prices, rent, permits and mortgage:    

• Home Prices Climbed in September. Where They Could Go From Here. – Barron’s
• Home Prices Hit Fresh Record in September. S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose 3.9% from a year earlier – Wall Street Journal
• The Price Is Wrong for Housing. Even if mortgage rates come down, today’s high home prices don’t seem sustainable – Wall Street Journal
• After Falling Last Year, Home Prices Are Rising Again – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• Will the Housing Market Roar Back in 2024? Our Fearless Predictions for the Year Ahead – Realtor.com

On the US—other developments:    

• This bird is cooked. Rising unemployment is bad news for the economy and for home prices – Home Economics
• Is it cheaper to rent or buy property? We crunch the house-price data across every American county—and make a surprising finding – The Economist
• Event: Have real estate and labor markets reached a new normal? Examining post-pandemic digital and housing market shifts in US regions on December 14 – Brookings
• It Will Never Be a Good Time to Buy a House – The Atlantic
• New Home Sales decrease to 679,000 Annual Rate in October. Median New Home Price is Down 18% from the Peak – Calculated Risk
• The Other Housing Crisis: Too Many Sick, Aging Homes. An aging US housing stock poses health risks to residents as much-needed repairs fall behind and the effects of climate change take a toll. – Bloomberg
• They Want to Split Up. The Housing Market Won’t Let Them. High mortgage rates and housing costs pose new problems for couples who are divorcing or separating – Wall Street Journal
• Final Look at Local Housing Markets in October. New Listings Up Year-over-year in October – Calculated Risk
• HOA Fees and Fines Add to US Housing Affordability Crisis. Homeowners’ associations have become increasingly dominant, but the federal government has been reluctant to regulate them. – Bloomberg

On China:

• What China’s struggling property sector means for the global economy and markets – Goldman Sachs
• Unlike Japan, China’s property crisis won’t lead to lost decades. China’s crisis stems from overenthusiastic investment while Japan’s was a result of speculation and bank profligacy. To revitalise its economy and calm international jitters, Beijing should look to other industries with higher investment yields, such as the tech sector – South China Morning Post
• The human cost of China’s property crisis. One of the world’s biggest real estate collapses has hurt buyers, households and families across the country – FT
• China’s Powerlong Real Estate warns of debt default risk – Reuters
• China’s Home Sales Spiral Despite Backstop Plan for Developers – Bloomberg
• Fixing China’s Real-Estate Sector. Past warnings of a housing-market crash in China have never been borne out, with the real-estate sector always managing to muddle through. But unless the government takes concerted action to address the deteriorating finances of developers, this time may well be different. – Project Syndicate 

On other countries:  

• [Australia] How to tackle Australia’s housing challenge – Grattan Institute
• [Australia] Australian housing wealth is meaningless, destructive and fundamentally changing our society. High-priced homes do not create wealth, Alan Kohler says, they redistribute it. Now financial success is largely a function of geography, not accomplishment – The Guardian
• [Germany] German Real Estate Seeing Most Distress, Greystar CEO Says – Bloomberg
• [Portugal] Is Portugal’s Golden Visa Scheme Worth It? Wealthy investors pulled the country out of a financial crisis, but they also sent house prices skyrocketing. – Foreign Policy
• [Sweden] Swedish property: value gap is a hygge mugger for bank stocks. Reported values are resilient simply because valuers do not have transaction data to price accurately – FT
• [United Kingdom] UK property sellers accept 5.5% average discount on asking price. Increased supply and high mortgage rates give buyers the upper hand – FT
• [United Kingdom] UK mortgage approvals beat forecasts to hit to 3-month high. Bank of England data points to stabilisation in property market after long period of low house sales – FT

Working papers and conferences:

• Are Swedish House Prices Too High? Why the Price-to-Income Ratio Is a Misleading Indicator – NBER
• Can Everyone Tap into the Housing Piggy Bank? Racial Disparities in Access to Home Equity – Philadelphia Fed
• Exposure to Local Housing Markets and Bank Performance – SSRN
• The Ins and Outs of Selling Houses: Understanding Housing-Market Volatility – SSRN  

On the US—developments on house prices, rent, permits and mortgage:    

• Another Reason Mortgage Rates will Fall. As rate vol dips and the yield curve steepens, prepayment risk will abate – Home Economics
• Owning a Home Has Gotten Pricey, Fast. A Market Adjustment Is Coming. – Barron’s
• Home Prices Could Come Down. What It Would Take. – Barron’s
• First-Time Home Buyers Are Back in Force, Despite Higher Mortgage Rates – Barron’s
• Home Prices Rose the Most in These Cheaper Cities—and Came Down in These Pricier Ones – Realtor.com
• Renters: Results from the Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2023 – Zillow 
• Reassessing the ‘Amazon Effect’ on Home Prices in One U.S. Metro Area – Realtor.com
• While All Inflation Feels Bad, Housing Inflation Is the Worst. For some, unaffordable homes undercut the American dream even more than high gasoline and food prices – Wall Street Journal

On the US—other developments:    

• Are Institutional Investors a Problem in the Housing Market? – Cato
• Time to take a wrecking ball to realtors’ fees in America. A court case is a first step to ending a racket – The Economist
• The Housing Challenge – Richmond Fed
• Housing is ‘unattainable’ for too many Americans: Fed’s Barkin – Yahoo Finance  
• Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-November – Calculated Risk
• 2nd Look at Local Housing Markets in October. Early Reporting Markets suggest some month-to-month increase in Sales in October, SAAR – Calculated Risk
• Home Depot, Lowe’s may signal more pain from muted consumer spending, housing demand – Reuters
• Here’s how much you need to make to afford a home in America – CNN
• Are There Generational Gaps in Income and Homeownership? – St. Louis Fed
• Part 2: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-November – Calculated Risk
• 3rd Look at Local Housing Markets in October. Markets reporting so far suggest sales close to 4 million SAAR in October – Calculated Risk
• The Fed Has Put Our Housing Market in Jeopardy – New York Times
• Americans are moving to smaller towns in the South. Enthusiasm for small-town living has outlived the pandemic – The Economist
• October 2023 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report – Realtor.com
• Housing Finance Watch – AEI
• States reform regulations to support more housing production. States are re-examining how they regulate housing development as rents and mortgage prices increase – Minneapolis Fed

On China:

• China Mulls $137 Billion of New Funds to Aid Housing Market. PBOC to inject cheap funds in phases through banks: people. Plan would mark a step-up in Beijing’s effort to boost economy – Bloomberg
• China Credit Market Calm Belies Risks From Property Debt Crisis – Bloomberg
• China’s property boost has to sway wary banks – Reuters
• China Property Slump Deepens as Beijing Mulls More Stimulus. Investment in development fell 9.3% through first 10 months. Beijing plans 1 trillion yuan in housing financing package – Bloomberg
• China Housing Woes Worsen as Prices Fall Most in Eight Years. Homebuyers are deterred by uncertain outlook, analyst says. Property slump is deepening despite stimulus measures – Bloomberg

On other countries:  

• [Australia] Australia’s Housing Crunch Lures More Private Credit Lenders. Banks go cool on commercial property as capital rules tighten. Funds look to residential developments amid housing shortage – Bloomberg
• [Australia] Australia’s Housing Crunch Lures More Private Credit Lenders. Banks go cool on commercial property as capital rules tighten. Funds look to residential developments amid housing shortage – Bloomberg
• [Australia] Planning in reverse: Rethinking housing targets – New Geography
• [Canada] Let’s stop calling it a housing crisis – Policy Options
• [Canada] CMHC Eyes C$8.5 Billion Bond Sale as Soon as Next Week. Transaction would be done before government’s fall statement. Agency to issue 10-year bonds and floating rate 5-year bonds – Bloomberg
• [Ecuador] Ecuador to Expand and Improve Housing for Poor and Vulnerable Populations – IDB
• [Germany] German homebuilding collapse threatens wider economic damage. Once-thriving residential construction industry has slumped, posing drag on EU’s largest economy – FT
• [Germany] No Balconies or Luxury Toilets: How This City Fought Soaring Rents and Lost. Rents are rising at a record pace in Berlin despite anti-gentrification rules and rental caps – Wall Street Journal
• [Germany] Berlin’s renters face more misery as housing crisis deepens – Reuters
• [Hungary] Hungary Starts Golden Visa Program for Real Estate Investors. Previous residency program was shut down after graft concerns. New iteration is part of bill that seeks to limit immigration – Bloomberg 
• [Ireland] Dublin house prices decline by 1.9% as higher interest rates deter buyers. Latest CSO data highlights a fall-off in transactions in September – The Irish Times
• [New Zealand] Upzoning New Zealand. New Zealand passed the most ambitious upzoning reforms in the world. Now comes the backlash. – Work in Progress
• [Singapore] Singapore’s Housing Rally Is Set to End, Morgan Stanley Says. Home prices forecast to fall 3% in 2024, downturn may persist. City Developments, UOL drop on Morgan Stanley’s downgrades – Bloomberg
• [Singapore] Swiss Real Estate Market Remains Vulnerable, Central Banker Says. Residential property prices have rallied to highest on record. SNB vice president reaffirms more rate hikes can’t be excluded – Bloomberg
• [Sweden] Swedish Households’ Outlook on Housing Prices Fades Further – Reuters
• [Sweden] Svensson says house price metrics ‘unreliable and misleading’ – Central Banking
• [United Arab Emirates] Dubai’s Record Home Prices May Start to Fall by End of 2024, S&P Says. S&P sees mild price correction of 5% to 10% in 12 to 18 months. Dubai’s property market has been fueled by influx of newcomers – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] New mortgage deal falls below 5% in ‘watershed moment’ for UK homeowners. Nationwide’s two-year fixed rate deal offered at 4.99% as lenders jostle for customers – The Guardian
• [United Kingdom] Housing market downturn pushes UK estate agents to consolidate. Shrinking market offers opportunities for larger players looking to move into lettings – FT
• [United Kingdom] UK Home Asking Prices Are Falling Slowly But Surely. At least affordability is edging in the right direction. – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] UK house prices suffer first annual fall since 2012. Rental charges rise at record pace as high borrowing costs hit both would-be buyers and landlords – FT

On cross-country:

• What happened to Airbnb? Financially, the sharing economy darling is thriving, but guests, hosts, and cities have had enough. – Vox
• ECB tells banks to factor in further drop in property prices – Reuters
• Why US Property Retains Its Value Compared to Other Global Markets – CoreLogic

Working papers and conferences:

• Tax Policy and the Heterogeneous Costs of Homeownership – NBER
• Seller and Search Behavior in the Belgian Housing Market – SSRN
• One Monetary Policy and Two Bank Lending Standards: A Tale of Two Europes – SSRN
• In Search of the Matching Function in the Housing Market – SSRN

On the US—developments on house prices, rent, permits and mortgage:    

• Lawler: Single-Family Rent Results. Invitation Homes, and AMH (American Homes 4 Rent) – Calculated Risk
• Mortgage Rates Hurt the Housing Market. It’s Been a Different Story for Million-Dollar Homes. The number of people paying cash instead of financing has given the high-end home market a boost – Wall Street Journal
• Housing Market Update: A Record Share of Home Sellers Drop Prices As High Rates Cut Into Buyers’ Budgets – Redfin 
• Turning Empty Offices into Apartments Is Getting Even Harder. Slowing rent growth may make conversions less attractive to investors – Wall Street Journal
• Mortgage-backed securities market waits for interest rate clouds to lift. Historically expensive home loans have hit issuance, while demand from key buyers has slumped – FT
• US Home Price Insights – November 2023 – CoreLogic

On the US—other developments:    

• The US Housing Market Has Become an Impossible Mess. Americans with cheap loans don’t want to sell. Those without homes can’t afford to buy. Will anything budge? – Bloomberg
• 1st Look at Local Housing Markets in October. Early Reporting Markets suggest some month-to-month increase in Sales in October, SAAR – Calculated Risk
• Housing Affordability Hits a 39-Year Low. ‘It’s Fair To Expect Prices To Weaken,’ Expert Says. – Realtor.com
• Hidden Gems: Affordable Housing Hot Spots Within America’s Priciest Metros – Realtor.com
• Inventory will Tell the Tale – Calculated Risk
• Racial Disparities in Housing. While there has been some progress to close racial wealth and housing gaps, racial disparities still run deep in the housing market. This data highlights the current landscape of racial inequalities in housing. – Zillow

On China:

• China’s Banks and Property Sector Threaten a Growing Economy. The International Monetary Fund warned of risks from overstretched lenders and developers even as it raised economic growth forecasts for this year and next. – New York Times
• More Semiconductors, Less Housing: China’s New Economic Plan. Policymakers, wary of inciting reckless borrowing in real estate, are instead investing heavily in factories and trying to help indebted local governments. – New York Times
• China hunts for new industrial ‘pillars’ to replace a wobbly property market. With the property sector, formerly a steady driver of GDP growth, no longer able to deliver, new industries will have to take its place. But there is no one sector which can be simply swapped into the role – multiple areas, now on the rise, must be combined to carry the same heft – South China Morning Post

On other countries:  

• [Australia] Five things to know about migration and the housing market – CoreLogic
• [Australia] Why Australia’s resilient housing market is in a precarious place. Australia’s housing market epitomises the three themes that have characterised property markets globally: resilience, stress and affordability. Rising house prices and rents are driving inflation and contributing to tighter financial conditions, which then exacerbates affordability issues – South China Morning Post
• [Austria] How the Gemeindebau Made Vienna the Capital of Public Housing. With their huge scale and shared amenities, the municipal apartment complexes of the Austrian capital are a model that other cities struggle to copy. – Bloomberg
• [Canada] Canada plans to convert public buildings into new 2,800 homes amid shortage – Reuters
• [Canada] Housing shifts from NIMBY to nimble – The Globe and Mail
• [Canada] Interest rates continue to take a toll on housing as sales and prices continue to soften – Canadian Mortgage Trends
• [France] Crédit Agricole warns of slowdown in mortgage demand in France. Country’s biggest mortgage lender rejects criticism that banks are holding back – FT
• [Germany] Wave of cancellations in German housing construction at new high – Ifo – Reuters
• [Hong Kong] Tackle Hong Kong’s shortage of affordable housing with more subsidised sale flats. If the government wants to eradicate subdivided units, increasing public rental housing supply alone will not get the job done. Too many people are ineligible to rent government-subsidised flats, and maintaining these estates comes at a steep price – South China Morning Post
• [Norway] Norway House Prices Rise, Defying Central Bank View – Bloomberg
• [Switzerland] SNB’s Jordan Warns That House Prices in Switzerland May Drop. Central bank head says development of rents will be important. He adds regulators must assess banks’ ability to get capital – Bloomberg
• [Switzerland] Swiss House Prices Hit Fresh Record Amid Overheating Worries. Residential property price index highest since data available. Central bank warned that prices may drop on overvaluations – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] Can ‘gentle density’ help us solve the housing crisis? With up to 4mn new homes needed in Britain alone, urban planners are looking to the ideas behind the buzzwords – FT
• [United Kingdom] Buy a Home, Get a Tesla: UK Builders Tempt Buyers With Freebies. Firms offering mortgage help, cash to buy Tesla to boost sales. High borrowing costs are hindering demand from would-be buyers – FT
• [United Kingdom] UK house prices register first increase since March, says Halifax. Mortgage provider attributes slight rise to scarcity of supply – FT
• [United Kingdom] UK housing market is past its ‘peak pain’, declares Savills. Upmarket estate agent says prices will start to bottom out in 2024 as interest rates fall and will return to growth in 2025 – The Guardian
• [United Kingdom] Downturn in UK housing market bottoms out in October: RICS – Reuters