The Unassuming Economist

On cross-country:

• Home economics: the tax roulette of buying a house in Europe. House buying costs vary from zero to thousands of euros, depending on where you buy – FT

Working papers and conferences:

• Is There a Puzzle in Underwater Mortgage Default? – Boston Fed
• Supply Constraints Do Not Explain House Price and Quantity Growth Across U.S. Cities – San Francisco Fed
• Organizational Form and Thrift Risk During the US Housing Boom and Bust – Cleveland Fed 
• Do Banks Price Flood Risk in Mortgage Origination: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in New Orleans – FED
• Conference: Housing affordability: what is new? in Zagreb, Croatia, on 26 September 2025 – Institute of Public Finance
• Homeownership and Housing Equity in the Mid-Twentieth Century – FED
• Under Pressure: Financial Stress and Housing Payments – Philadelphia FED

On Australia and New Zealand:

• [New Zealand] New Zealand woos the wealthy with golden visa changes. The country is introducing a minimum property investment of $3mn as part of a plan to entice foreigners seeking ‘a safe haven’ or outdoor lifestyle – FT

On other countries:  

• [Ireland] Mortgage rules have stopped house prices from rising even more quickly, says Central Bank. Deputy governor Vasileios Madouros said the rules, introduced in 2015, guard against the damaging effects of unsustainable mortgage lending – Irish Independent
• [Germany] German home prices rise as depressed property sector seeks momentum – Reuters
• [Singapore] What’s behind Singapore’s world-high property transaction costs? Island nation has tried to calm foreign property demand by adding fees – FT
• [Switzerland] Switzerland Holds Vote on Abolishing $2.1 Billion Property Tax – Bloomberg
• [United Arab Emirates] UAE Residential Property Price Report – August 2025 – REIDIN
• [United Arab Emirates] Will Dubai’s super-hot property market avoid a crash? Despite fears of a reckoning, its fundamentals look solid – The Economist
• [Vietnam] Vietnam PM calls for more housing to cool real estate prices – Reuters