On the US—developments on house prices, rent, permits and mortgage:
- Accounting for flood risk would lower American house prices by $187bn. Unpriced future damages inflate home values the most in rural, inland regions – The Economist
- Mortgage Activity Increases as Rates Fall for 5th Straight week – NAHB
- Mortgage Rates Just Dropped Again—Is It Enough To Save the Spring Housing Market? – Realtor.com
On the US—other developments:
- Bloomberg Wealth: A Housing Market That’s Hard to Handicap. Recent financial and economic indicators are making it difficult for investors to understand how to approach real estate. – Bloomberg
- 1st Look at Local Housing Markets in March. Closed Sales: 19th consecutive month with a YoY decline – Calculated Risk
- Zoning Restrictions Spread to New Areas, Making Housing Crisis Worse. Harvard economist Edward Glaeser describes a dangerous trend. But a cross-ideological tide of reform might help reverse it. – Reason
- 2nd Look at Local Housing Markets in March. The Year-over-year Sales Decline in March will likely be similar to February NSA – Calculated Risk
- Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-April – Calculated Risk
- Housing politics divide the suburbs – Axios
On China:
- Chinese Consumers’ Lack of Confidence Is Causing a Rush of Mortgage Prepayments. Worries about future income levels, poor returns on investment push borrowers to repay debt early – Wall Street Journal
- Derisking Real Estate in China’s Hybrid Economy – NBER
On other countries:
- [Australia] Housing values in some wealthy Australian suburbs have slumped more than a quarter, data reveals. Affluent areas of capital cities ‘lead both the upswing and the downturn’, according to property data expert – The Guardian
- [Canada] How Homeowners Are Tackling Surging Mortgage Rates in Canada. Homeowners with variable-rate loans at some of Canada’s major lenders are seeking ways to navigate much higher borrowing costs. – Bloomberg
- [Denmark] Denmark Joins Nordic Peers in Housing Price Rebound. Danish home prices rise first time in 9 months in March. Nordic markets have had some of the steepest slumps in Europe – Bloomberg
- [Japan] Japan’s house price increases moderating – Global Property Guide
- [United Kingdom] UK house prices are now falling – Global Property Guide
- [United Kingdom] UK house prices rise unexpectedly for third month in a row, by 0.8%. Halifax says market has been helped by easing of borrowing costs – The Guardian
- [United Kingdom] More house price drops expected despite signs of market stabilizing. Rics monthly poll shows new buyer inquiries in UK are flat as volume of agreed sales falls further – The Guardian