Links to the week’s top housing market stories.

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

• How real estate commission changes could make buying and selling a home cheaper – PBS
• I’m a Realtor. NAR settlement may not be as good for home buyers and sellers as they think – USA Today
• The housing market is thawing as an increasing number of ‘mortgage lock’ homes go up for sale, JPMorgan says – Business Insider
• The Fastest Rising U.S. Housing Markets in 2024 – Visual Capitalist
• House Prices Are Rising Fastest in These Five Cities – Newsweek

On Europe and rest of the world:

• The state of the housing market in the euro area – ECB Economic Bulletin
• Where is housing most expensive in Europe and how much are people willing to spend? – Euronews
• London’s Luxury Property Market Turns a Corner – Mansion Global
• Australia’s Gold Coast Is Primed for a Long-Term Real Estate Boom—and There’s Still Time for Buyers to Get In – Mansion Global

On cross-country:

• Housing Is in Crisis All Around the World – Bloomberg

Working papers and conferences:

• All That Glitters? Golden Visas and Real Estate – IZA
• The Lock-In Effect of Rising Mortgage Rates – FHFA
• Why Not Tax It? The Effects of Property Taxes on House Price and Homeownership – SSRN
• The impact of prudential regulations on the UK housing market and economy: insights from an agent-based model – Bank of England
• Book: When Housing Markets Meet Shadow Banking: Bubbles, Mortgages, Securitization, and Fintech – Amazon

On the US—reactions to the real estate group settlement:    

• The 6% commission on buying or selling a home is gone after Realtors association agrees to seismic settlement – CNN
• Powerful Realtor Group Agrees to Slash Commissions to Settle Lawsuits. The National Association of Realtors will pay $418 million in damages and will amend several rules that housing experts say will drive down housing costs. – New York Times 
• A major settlement could spell an end to 6% real estate commissions – NPR
• 4 Ways a Settlement Could Change the Housing Industry. The influential National Association of Realtors agreed to make several changes to its policies to settle class-action lawsuits brought by home sellers who say they were forced to pay inflated commissions to real estate agents. – New York Times
• Realtor settlement could bring ‘seismic shift’ to housing market – The Hill
• Housing Market Upended By Commission Lawsuit – Newsweek 
• Zillow, Redfin, and other real estate stocks sank after a big settlement to limit broker fees. The agreement with the National Association of Realtors tightens rules around commissions in the home buying process – Quartz
• Home buying costs could fall in big US real estate group settlement – Reuters
• US home sale fees set to fall after real estate group settles lawsuits. National Association of Realtors has agreed to pay $418mn in damages in a deal that sent brokerage shares lower – FT
• The way Americans buy and sell homes is about to get turned on its head – CNN
• Opinion: How to make sure the 6% home commission really does die – CNN
• The Realtors’ Big Defeat. A settlement in the real estate industry is a case study of a central flaw in free-market economic theory. – New York Times 
• Five Ways Buying and Selling a House Could Change. The National Association of Realtors has agreed to change its policies to settle several lawsuits brought by home sellers — a move that could reduce commissions. – New York Times
• Realtors Reckon With a Seismic Shift to How They Get Paid. Some agents predict workarounds will protect their commissions, while others head for the exits – Wall Street Journal
• A $418 Million Settlement Could Change U.S. Home Buying. But Who Benefits? – NPR
• What Comes Next for the Housing Market? The Federal Reserve still expects to cut rates this year, and a change in selling practices could shake up home shopping. Here’s the outlook. – New York Times
• Real estate agents face an overdue reckoning. From lower commissions to falling mortgage rates, purchasing property may become easier – FT
• Could a major lawsuit against realtors mean lower home prices? What the National Association of Realtors settlement means for buyers and sellers. – Vox  

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

• Can Mortgage Rates Still Fall to 6%? The housing market depends on it – Home Economics
• It’s Hard to Beat That 7% Mortgage Rate. These Charts Show Why. The usual workarounds for high borrowing rates aren’t helping buyers much – Wall Street Journal
• U.S. Economic, Housing and Mortgage Market Outlook – March 2024 – Freddie Mac
• Private Equity Wants Your Credit Card Debt. And Car Loan. And Mortgage. The private-credit craze is spreading to asset-based lending and the American consumer – Wall Street Journal
• The rent is too damn high. And Joe Biden knows it. The president has raised concerns in private and made a push in public. But his tool kit is limited. – Politico
• “The Lock-In Effect of Rising Mortgage Rates” – Calculated Risk
• Moderating Interest Rates, Pent-up Demand Push Single-Family Starts Higher – NAHB
• Higher Mortgage Rate Forecast Leads to Decline in 2024 Home Sales Expectations. Recent Inflation Data Likely to Keep Mortgage Rates ‘Higher for Longer’ than Previously Forecast – Fannie Mae
• Single Family Starts Up 35% Year-over-year in February; Multi-Family Starts Down Sharply. Housing Starts Increased to 1.521 million Annual Rate in February – Calculated Risk  
• Singh’s Take: Housing Construction Ramps Up After January Slowdown. Economists say the rebound is mostly due to improved weather – Wall Street Journal
• US single-family housing starts, permits near two-year highs – Reuters
• Ten economic facts about rental housing – Brookings
• DOJ escalates price-fixing probe on housing market. The investigation adds to the legal difficulties facing the housing sector and highlights an issue Biden hopes to push on the campaign trail. – Politico
• Home Flipping Plummets Across U.S. in 2023 as Profits Slump Again – ATTOM

On the US—other developments:      

• Hitting Home: Housing Affordability in the U.S. – Econofact
• FACT SHEET: In Nevada, President Biden to Double Down on Plan to Lower Housing Costs and Increase Housing Supply for American Families – The White House  
• A Big Step Toward a Fairer Housing Market – New York Times
• Biden Suggests a Bigger Federal Role to Reduce Housing Cost. A new report focuses on the prolonged struggle to build affordable housing across America and suggests federal incentives to help. – New York Times
• How a housing market puzzle helps explain the economy’s resilience – Axios
• Why are so many voters frustrated by the US economy? It’s home prices. Going into this election year, the United States is slogging through a housing affordability crisis – Quartz
• What is causing the growing divide in the US property market? While most homebuyers are still hobbled by high mortgage rates, sales of luxury homes are surging – FT
• 3rd Look at Local Housing Markets in February 2024 – Calculated Risk
• Part 2: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-March 2024 – Calculated Risk
• ATTOM Ranks Best Counties for Buying Single-Family Rentals in 2024 – ATTOM
• Housing Market Update: Listings Surge, Luring Some Buyers off the Fence, But Near-Record Housing Costs Price Others Out – Redfin
• Regulatory Changes Expected to Increase Access to Financing for Manufactured Homes. Updates modernize Title I, the only federal program focused on safe, affordable home-only loans – Pew
• Why Private Developers Are Rejecting Government Money for Affordable Housing. Complex in Los Angeles for formerly homeless costs less than half as much as buildings financed with public money – Wall Street Journal
• Once America’s Hottest Housing Market, Austin Is Running in Reverse. Home prices have fallen more than anywhere in the U.S. – Wall Street Journal
• Fed’s inflation fight will affect housing supply for decades, says Redfin CEO – Yahoo Finance
• Three cheers for supply? Demand, on the other hand, is not helping US housing markets – FT
• Biden starts making his affordable housing pitch on the trail. A trip to Nevada will be centered around increasing housing supply. – Politico
• NAHB Releases What Home Buyers Really Want, Study Shows Buyers Want Smaller Homes – NAHB
• Affordable Housing: Subsidies Raise Costs – Cato
• America’s Magical Thinking About Housing. The city of Austin built a lot of homes. Now rent is falling, and some people seem to think that’s a bad thing. – The Atlantic

On China:

• China’s home prices extend declines despite support measures – Reuters
• China Home Price Slump Persists Even as Support Mounts. Drop in new-home prices shows ‘no signs of ebbing’: economist. Property crisis drags on as developer Vanke faces pressure – Bloomberg
• China housing prices continued to slump in February. The NBS published its 70-city housing prices data, which showed primary and secondary market prices declining for the 9th and 10th consecutive months respectively – ING
• China’s Real-Estate Market Just Set a Record—but Not a Good One. Sales are up, but homeowners are being forced to slash prices – Wall Street Journal

On other countries:  

• [Hong Kong] Hong Kong Housing Rebound Starts to Cool as Weekend Sales Fall – Bloomberg
• [Slovak Republic] Rebuilding fiscal buffers, sustaining productivity growth and tackling housing challenges will help the Slovak Republic boost economic resilience and living standards – OECD
• [United Kingdom] London Home Rents Surge at Record Pace to Over £2,000 a Month. Official figures underscore strain on younger generations. Supply constraints and rising population squeeze renters – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] UK Rental Market Index – hometrack
• [United Kingdom] The end of landlords: the surprisingly simple solution to the UK housing crisis. Mass-scale housebuilding isn’t necessary – there is already enough housing stock. But we need to learn the wisdom of the last century when it comes to landlordism – The Guardian

On cross-country:

• Why Europe’s housing crisis is taking hold. From Sweden to Spain, via the Netherlands and Greece, inadequate construction rates and excessive tourism have accentuated the housing shortage, while prices remain high. – Le Monde
• The link between housing affordability and poverty in Europe – LSE

Working papers and conferences:

• Call for Papers: Workshop on Changing Demographics and Housing Demand: Call for Papers on October 24-25 – Philadelphia Fed
• 4th Workshop on Rent Control – DIW Berlin
• The housing channel of intergenerational wealth persistence – CEPR
• How house prices respond to monetary tightening: The role of cyclical conditions – VoxEU
• Housing Speculation, GSEs, and Credit Market Spillovers – NBER
• A Housing Portfolio Channel of QE Transmission – NBER 
• Measuring Homeownership Sustainability for First-Time Homebuyers – FHFA
• The Impact of Borrower-Based Macroprudential Policies on Financial Stability, Inequality, and Housing Stock with a High-Resolution, Data-Driven Model – SSRN
• Forecasting Single Family House Prices in the US using GMDH – SSRN
• Can Higher Federal Funds Rates Control Mortgage Lending during High Inflation and High House Prices in Absence of Reserve Requirements? – SSRN   

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

• Mortgage Rates in US Drop for First Time Since Early February. Borrowing costs are a big hurdle for buyers, economist says. New listings are rising in sign that inventory crunch may ease – Bloomberg
• Mortgage Rates Just Dropped—but the Housing Market Got Even Better News This Week – Realtor.com
• The “Home ATM” Closed in Q4. Mortgage Equity Withdrawal (MEW) was low in Q4 – Calculated Risk
• America’s rental-market mystery. And why it may deter the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates – The Economist
• The Only Force Stronger Than Polarization? Rising Home Prices. Checking Zillow is not an ideological activity. – Atlantic Council
• Lawler: Rent Trends at some Large Holders of Multifamily Properties – Calculated Risk
• 2nd Look at Local Housing Markets in February. Inventory Continues to Surge in Florida – Calculated Risk
• Housing Continues to Keep Inflation Elevated – NAHB
• How housing supply is beginning to recover: Redfin CEO – Yahoo Finance

On the US—other developments:    

• Homebuyers Get More Options as Steep Prices Lure Holdout Sellers. More owners are deciding to list their properties, an early sign that the mortgage ‘lock-in effect’ may be loosening its grip. – Bloomberg
• FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Plan to Lower Housing Costs for Working Families – The White House
• Remarks by National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard on President Biden’s Bold Plan for Housing – The White House
• Biden’s Plan To Subsidize Homebuyers Won’t Work. The president’s laundry list of proposed tax credits would likely make the problem of high housing costs worse. – Reason
• Inside Biden’s plan to unlock the housing market’s golden handcuffs – Axios
• Yellen says Biden’s proposed housing tax credits could boost supply – Reuters
• Why Biden’s so obsessed with housing policy – Axios
• Biden’s Budget Includes Several New Housing Proposals – NAHB 
• To Fix a Housing Crisis, New York Leaders Seek to Revive a 1950s Idea. State Democrats are set to propose a series of ideas to address affordability and a lack of new homes. Some of the ideas are new. And some are very, very old. – New York Times 
• The Billionaries’ Secret Plan to Solve California’s Housing Crisis – New York Times
• The Politics of Housing: Owner/Renter Polarization. A partisan chasm is widening – Home Economics
• Housing Market Update: Supply Ticked Up in February for First Time in 8 Months – Redfin  
• California, New Jersey and Illinois Still Facing Higher Risk of Housing Market Decline – ATTOM
• 1st Look at Local Housing Markets in February. Early Reports Suggest Sales will be up from January – Calculated Risk
• A Rising Tide Lifts All Homes? Housing Consumption Trends for Low-Income Households Since the 1980s – Minneapolis Fed
• Opinion: Inflation isn’t the real problem for the U.S. economy. The housing shortage is – Los Angeles Times
• U.S. Foreclosure Activity Continues to See an Annual Increase – ATTOM
• Examining Differences between Homeowner and Renter Wealth – NAHB
• Unleashing Manufactured Housing. The United States presently has an estimated shortage of 3–5 million housing units. – Cato Institute
• Q4 Update: Delinquencies, Foreclosures and REO. REO: lender Real Estate Owned – Calculated Risk
• Survey: Buyers and Owners Cite Concern Over Climate and Natural Disaster Risks – Realtor.com
• American dream of owning a home is dead, majority of renters say. Exclusive: most renters surveyed by Harris Poll say the areas they live in have become so unaffordable they are ‘barely livable’ – The Guardian
• Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-March 2024 – Calculated Risk
• Where Are the Most Expensive US Places for Property Taxes? – CoreLogic
• Climate Risks Threaten Nearly Half of All Homes in the U.S.: What Buyers and Sellers Need To Know – Realtor.com

On China:

• Shanghai housing market’s downwards trend to continue amid low demand and expectations of further price declines, brokers say. Owners selling homes will have to offer discounts of 5 to 10 per cent to make sales: brokers. ‘Most customers are just taking a wait-and-see approach,’ sales manager at property agency 5I5J says – South China Morning Post
• China ready to let some troubled property firms go bust: housing minister. Ni Hong says authorities have the arduous task of stabilising the crisis-hit real estate industry this year. Companies that are insolvent or can’t operate must fold or be restructured, Ni says – South China Morning Post
• China’s housing minister says real estate developers must go bankrupt if necessary – CNBC
• Moody’s Downgrades Major Chinese Property Developer Vanke. Moody’s has downgraded one of China’s largest housing developers’ credit rating, as woes in the country’s property sector show no sign of abating. – AFP
• Rising mortgage defaults bring more pain to Chinese households – Reuters

On other countries:  

• [Australia] First home buyers tapping super could drive up house prices – AFR
• [Australia] The ‘good old days’ for housing affordability were just four years ago – here’s why. But those days of 2020 are good only relative to now, and that’s a rather horrific thought – The Guardian
• [Australia] Sydney Faces Growing Pains as Its Housing Crisis Deepens. A New South Wales state plan to build apartments around Sydney train stations has run into local opposition. – Bloomberg
• [Canada] Trudeau Eyes Boost to Canada’s Housing Supply With New Budget – Bloomberg
• [Hong Kong] Hong Kong property agents expect more big-ticket foreclosures this year – Reuters
• [Hong Kong] Ending cooling measures no game changer for Hong Kong property market. The end of more than a decade of cooling measures for Hong Kong’s property market is welcome and has sparked a surge in new home sales. These changes must be put in proper context, though, as several other factors will be more consequential in setting the property sector’s course – South China Morning Post
• [Hong Kong] Hong Kong’s Apartment Glut Is Set to Keep Prices Down After Tax Cut. Market must absorb inventory before values recover, agents say. Competition also likely to stifle prices even as sales rebound – Bloomberg
• [India] India’s housing market remains upbeat – Global Property Guide
• [Indonesia] Indonesia’s housing market remains stable – Global Property Guide
• [Ireland] The Irish Times view on housing supply: some progress on building new homes. While pointing to the acceleration in construction, Ministers also need to recognise the distance still to be travelled – The Irish Times
• [Spanish] Spanish house price growth bucks general eurozone trend. Despite a decline in the fourth quarter of 2023, Spanish house prices grew by an average of 4.2% over the full year. Spain goes against the trend of many eurozone countries where average house price growth was negative last year due to rising interest rates – ING
• [South Korea] South Korea’s land minister bearish on property as population ages – Reuters
• [Sweden] Swedish Home Prices Edge Up in Sign Recovery May Be Nearing – Bloomberg
• [United Arab Emirates] United Arab Emirates Residential Property Price Report: February 2024 – REIDIN
• [United Kingdom] UK house prices near 2022 peak after fifth monthly rise in a row. Halifax says prices grew by 1.7% on an annual basis with the average UK house now costing £291,699 – FT 
• [United Kingdom] UK House Prices Rise for a Fifth Month, Halifax Says. 0.4% gain in February leaves home values 1.7% higher on year. But Halifax warns of possible slowdown later in the year – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] UK Housing Market Achieves ‘Soft Landing’ as Prices Stabilize. RICS survey sees three-year high for properties on sale. New buyer inquiries positive for a second consecutive month – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] UK housing market strengthens in February, RICS survey shows – Reuters  

On cross-country:

• Global home prices set for a gentle climb in a tight market – Reuters poll – Reuters

Working papers and conferences:

• Built out cities? A new approach to measuring land use regulation – Journal of Housing Economics
• The interest rate sensitivity of house prices: international evidence on its state dependence – Swiss National Bank
• The economic impact of UNESCO World Heritage: Evidence from Italy – Regional Science and Urban Economics
• A Quantitative Model for Mapping the Consequences of Public Housing Demolitions – Philadelphia Fed
• Housing Cycle and Firm Investment: International Firm-level Evidence – Journal of Asian Economics
• The Push of Big City Prices and the Pull of Small Town Amenities – SSRN
• Interpreting the Changing Meaning of the Peri-Urban Holiday House: The Complex and Paradoxical Nature of Housing Financialisation – SSRN
• Real Estate Commissions and Homebuying – SSRN
• Residential Mobility and Life Cycle: Identifying the Role of Local Taxes – SSRN
• Jue Insight: Making Housing Affordable? The Local Effects of Relaxing Land-Use Regulation – SSRN
• Correlated Labor Market Risk and Housing Investment – SSRN

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

• The mortgage ‘lock-in’ effect is here to stay and home prices won’t fall for years to come, research firm says – Business Insider
• Are Investors and Interest Rates Abolishing the Dream of Homeownership? – CoreLogic
• US Home Price Insights – CoreLogic
• Freddie Mac House Price Index Increased in January; Up 6.2% Year-over-year. Austin Prices Down 11.1% from Peak Seasonally Adjusted – Calculated Risk
• Inflation Adjusted House Prices 2.4% Below Peak. Price-to-rent index is 7.3% below recent peak – Calculated Risk
• US home prices to grind higher as cheap mortgage holders stay put: Reuters poll – Reuters
• Pending home sales drop 4.9% in January – Realtor.com
• Single-Family Construction Spending Continues to Rise – NAHB
• High Mortgage Rates Leave Biden Searching for Housing Relief. The president and his team are seeking ways to help Americans afford to rent and buy homes, as high borrowing costs dampen views of the economy. – New York Times
• US mortgage rates rise for a fourth-straight week, Freddie Mac says – Reuters
• January Consumption Contracts, While Pending Sales Retreat from Higher Mortgage Rates – Fannie Mae  
• Mortgage Activity Jumps after Falling for Three Consecutive Weeks – NAHB
• Assumable Mortgages Offer Some Buyers Affordability – Realtor.com
• ICE Mortgage Monitor: “First-Time Homebuyers Make Up Record 47% of GSE Purchase Loans” – Calculated Risk 
• Record number of cash offers show New York property is only for rich. High mortgage rates are creating a void for all but the wealthiest home buyers in the city – FT
• Single-Family Production Shows Signs of Stirring Across the Nation – NAHB
• Asking Rents Mostly Unchanged Year-over-year – Calculated Risk
• Home-Selling Sentiment Moves Higher Ahead of Spring Homebuying Season – Fannie Mae  

On the US—other developments:    

• Why small developers are getting squeezed out of the housing market – Noapinion
• How do Young Homebuyers Finance their Downpayments? Their source of funds falls close to home – Home Economics
• Treasury Department Announces New Efforts to Increase Housing Supply in the United States – US Treasury
• US Treasury eases rules on unspent COVID aid to boost affordable housing – Reuters 
• A frozen spring for the US housing market – FT
• Home-Mortgage Lending Near Two-Decade Low as Slump Continues Across U.S. During Fourth Quarter – ATTOM  
• Home-Buying Dreams Dashed for Typical US Family Since 2020. Most households can’t afford to buy a home in 2024 market. Affordability plunges as prices and borrowing costs surge – Bloomberg
• Developers Got Backing for Affordable Housing. Then the Neighborhood Found Out. The push from an affluent community in South Carolina to kill a plan for 60 subsidized apartments brought into public view how hard it is give low-income families access to opportunity-rich neighborhoods. – New York Times
• Why a White House Plan to Fund Office-to-Housing Conversions Isn’t Working. Citing lengthy delays and red tape, developers have been slow to tap a Biden administration program designed to finance office conversions near transit. – Bloomberg 
• U.S. Housing Is Too Expensive. Why That’s Good News for Builders. Fitch Ratings says prices in 91% of U.S. metropolitan areas were overvalued in the third quarter of 2023. – Barron’s
• Housing Supply and Quantity Supplied, Redux – Econlib
• Can income-restricted ADUs expand the affordable housing stock in Los Angeles? – Brookings
• How new apartments create opportunities for all. Market-rate rental construction in Minneapolis has freed up more affordable homes for households across the income spectrum – Minneapolis Fed
• Home Sellers Claim Warren Buffett’s Brokerage Defrauded Them. A division of Mr. Buffett’s conglomerate was added to a string of defendants in an antitrust lawsuit that alleges brokerages inflated commissions that home sellers were forced to pay. – New York Times
• Southeast Oklahoma partners seek to remove barriers to housing – Kansas City Fed
• Everything Is Getting Bigger in Texas. Plus: An interview with Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Minnesota lawmakers try to save Minneapolis zoning reform from excess environmental review, and the White House’s new housing supply action plan. – Reason
• A Hidden Crisis in Housing – Bloomberg 
• Black Millennials Are Half As Likely to Own a Home As White Millennials – Redfin
• Top economist Gary Shilling predicts a ‘considerable revival’ in housing activity—but it’s going to take 3 or 4 years to unfreeze the housing market – Fortune

On China:

• Chinese Insurers Warn of Debt Risks at Property Giant Vanke. At least two insurers told annuity managers to monitor risks. Vanke in fresh talks with some insurers to extend private debt – Bloomberg
• Why China’s Property Downturn Has a Silver Lining for Consumption. Some economists argue falling home prices allow families to save less and spend more. But a lack of confidence in growth may be holding back spending. – Bloomberg

On other countries:  

• [Australia] Why rising house prices make RBA rate cuts less likely. The latest data from the housing market says supply remains weak, and prices are rising again. That will probably give the RBA a headache. – Financial Review
• [Australia] The suburbs where prices jumped more than $240k in three months – Financial Review
• [Australia] Coalition flags expanding super for housing policy amid increase in house prices. Michael Sukkar says policy may need to be revised ahead of next federal election but the ‘broad strokes’ would remain the same – The Guardian
• [Australia] Why Asian buyers’ love of Australia’s property market endures. Deteriorating affordability has left many Australians struggling in the housing market, but foreign buyers’ interest remains strong. Record migration, China’s housing crisis, Australia’s stability and Asian private wealth’s influence are driving the surge in purchases – South China Morning Post
• [Australia] Inquiry into Help to Buy scheme hears from economists on risk of higher house prices – The Australian
• [Australia] The government’s Help to Buy scheme will help but it won’t solve the housing crisis – The Conversation
• [Canada] Toronto Home Prices Increase for First Time in Seven Months. Sales fell in February and new listings were relatively flat. Lower rates later in 2024 will stoke demand, economist says – Bloomberg
• [Canada] Bank of Canada’s Macklem, ahead of budget, warns against spurring housing demand – Reuters
• [Hong Kong] Open House: Cheapest Hong Kong Luxury Housing Comes With a Major Catch. Sea Ranch is a rare example of a property development gone wrong in a city known for its sky-high house prices. Yet the project’s lack of convenience offers potential buyers rare bargains, provided they can put up with the solitude. – Bloomberg
• [New Zealand] NZ House Prices Continue Soft Start to Year With Modest Gains – Bloomberg
• [Norway] Norway house prices rise for second month, defying central bank – The Business Times
• [Poland] Polish PM Tusk says govt approves 2024 mortgage payment holidays bill – Reuters
• [Spain] Madrid’s New Arrivals Stir a Toxic Political Stew. Spain’s capital has emerged as a new destination for the global elite – Bloomberg
• [Sweden] Swedish Home Prices Stall at a Higher Level Than Before Pandemic – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] Tories wrestle with failure to fix Britain’s housing crisis. Mortgages for first-time buyers were at a 10-year low last year – FT
• [United Kingdom] UK house prices post first annual increase in more than a year. Higher than expected rise in February as mortgage rates ease – FT
• [United Kingdom] UK mortgage approvals surge to highest level since October 2022. Data suggests residential house market is recovering as squeeze from higher borrowing costs eases – FT

On cross-country:

• Global house prices rebound as economists predict turning point. Across the 37 industrialised OECD countries, nominal house prices grew 2.1% in the third quarter of 2023 – FT

Working papers and conferences:

• Call for papers: The Journal of Housing Economics seeks contributions to a special issue on the general subject of upzoning. – ScienceDirect
• Conference: 8th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference on March 7-8 – World Bank
• Reexamining the ‘Role of the Community Reinvestment Act in Mortgage Supply and the U.S. Housing Boom’ – SSRN
• Land Development and Frictions to Housing Supply Over the Business Cycle – SSRN
• Volatility Connectedness and Spillover of the U.S. Median Home Sale Prices – SSRN
• The Interest Rate Sensitivity of House Prices: International Evidence on its State Dependence – SSRN

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

• Comparing Two House-Price Booms – Cleveland Fed
• A New ‘Holy Grail’ in the Housing Crisis: Statewide Rent Caps. As housing costs soar, Washington State wants to limit annual rent increases to 7 percent. Oregon and California have passed similar measures. – New York Times
• Home Sales Rebounded in January After Last Year’s Sharp Decline. Drop in mortgage rates since October has made home purchasing slightly more affordable – Wall Street Journal
• New Home Sales at 661,000 Annual Rate in January. Median New Home Price is Down 15% from the Peak – Calculated Risk
• Mapped: The Median Down Payment for a House, by U.S. State – Visual Capitalist
• U.S. Median House Prices vs. Income – Visual Capitalist
• Do Early Birds Buy the House? 9 Cities Where the Spring Housing Rush Starts Sooner Than You Think – Realtor.com 
• Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 5.5% year-over-year in December. FHFA: House Prices Up 6.5% Q4 over Q4 – Calculated Risk
• US CoreLogic S&P Case-Shiller Index Continues to Strengthen, With Annual Gain of 5.5% in December – CoreLogic
• Real U.S. House Prices UP 4% in 2023 – Real Estate Decoded
• Why US housing inflation relief may be short-lived – Reuters
• Lawler: Update on American Homes for Rent – Calculated Risk
• US Housing Supply Gap Grows in 2023; Growth Outpaces Permits in Fast-Growing Sunbelt Metros – Realtor.com
• US annual home prices rising despite fourth-quarter slowdown, FHFA says – Reuters

On the US—other developments:    

• What Texas can teach San Francisco and London about building houses. It’s not a housing crisis — it’s a planning crisis – FT
• Housing Costs Are Running Hot, but Is the Data Missing a Cooling Trend? Pandemic disruptions may have muddled the measurement of home prices in inflation data. That could complicate the Fed’s course on interest rates. – New York Times
• U.S. Commercial Foreclosures Increase in January 2024 – ATTOM
• Home buyers can sue brokerages over real estate commissions, US judge rules – Reuters
• ‘Build, baby, build!’: Governors take a walk on housing’s supply side. – Washington Post
• A housing shortage is testing Oregon’s pioneering land use law. Lawmakers are set to tweak it – AP
• Final Look at Local Housing Markets in January – Calculated Risk
• What Has Zoning Reform Accomplished in Cambridge, Massachusetts? – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• U.S. Economic, Housing and Mortgage Market Outlook – February 2024 – Freddie Mac
• Affordable Housing: Tax Credits vs Deregulation – Cato Institute
• Aspiring homeowners say they face two major obstacles to buying. Here’s why 20% say it’ll ‘never’ happen – CNBC
• The Workforce/Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit – AEI
• Freddie Reports Surge in Multifamily Serious Delinquencies – Calculated Risk   
• The American Southwest Is Finally Starting to Embrace Vertical Living. New building codes and zoning laws are paving the way for development in the desert, which has long been an oasis of single-family homes – Wall Street Journal
• Buying a Home Near Nvidia’s Headquarters Is Nearly Impossible Right Now. Blame Santa Clara’s inventory and relative affordability—not the company’s stock run-up—for creating such a competitive market – Wall Street Journal
• FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces New Actions to Boost Housing Supply and Lower Housing Costs – White House
• The U.S. Housing Market Gained $2 Trillion in Value Over the Last Year. The total value of U.S. homes jumped 5%, the biggest gain in nearly a year, as a shortage of houses for sale propped up values. Affordable East Coast and Midwest metros saw gains of over 10%, while pricey metros and pandemic boomtowns saw declines. – Redfin

On China:

• China Home Prices Slide, Increasing Pressure on Beijing. The country’s real estate slump has dealt a major blow to confidence – Wall Street Journal
• Shenzhen offers glimpse of China’s housing future – Reuters

On other countries:  

• [Australia] Amid Australia’s housing crisis, why are taxpayers propping up the price of empty holiday homes? The sheer number of Airbnb and Stayz short-stay rentals is a symptom of a system that’s unfair at its core – The Guardian
• [Australia] Regional housing markets outpace the capitals as rates rise – Financial Review
• [Australia] Australia home prices likely to rise 5.0% this year and next – Reuters
• [Canada] Canada’s extension of ban on foreign real estate buyers labelled political, not practical – Reuters
• [Germany] Germany home prices to slip modestly this year as supply stays tight – Reuters
• [Hong Kong] Hong Kong Takes Drastic Action to Avert Property Slump. The city’s real-estate market has been hurt by high interest rates and mainland China’s economic slowdown – Wall Street Journal
• [New Zealand] Trudeau’s New Zealand May Allow Foreigners to Buy Build-to-Rent Homes. Finance Minister says government wants to boost housing supply. ‘Our overseas investment regime has been quite restrictive’ – Bloomberg
• [Philippines] Global rich keep luxury property prices rising as Manila, Dubai soar – Knight Frank – Reuters
• [United Kingdom] Seniors Sit on the Answer to the UK Housing Shortage. If more over-65s step off the housing ladder, more young people can step on. – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] UK builders and government need to fix housing shortage, regulator says – Reuters
• [United Kingdom] Britain’s interwar apartment boom. A decade of Art Deco densification – The Works in Progress
• [United Kingdom] Spending on UK social housing will ‘save taxpayers money’ in long term, study finds. Upfront cost of building 90,000 new homes would be returned within 11 years, say Shelter and NHF – FT
• [United Kingdom] UK Mortgage Approvals Hit 15-Month High as Borrowing Jumps. Bank of England data suggest housing market gaining momentum. Mortgage interest rates have been creeping higher again – Bloomberg