The Unassuming Economist

On cross-country:

• House prices survived the last interest-rate rise. Will they this time? Supports that shored up the housing market when borrowing costs last rose are gone – The Economist
• Why house prices may be in trouble. In a big serving of bad news, there are crumbs of comfort – The Economist
• UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2026: Zurich and Tokyo lead global housing bubble risk. – UBS

Working papers and conferences:  

• Why housing reforms keep failing. Not all NIMBYs are alike. Dividing the most unreasonable ones from the rest might be the key to getting homes built. – Works in Progress
• AREUEA Policy Forum: Is the Time Right for the Manufactured Housing Sector to Deliver Affordable Homeownership Opportunities? On October 2 – AREUEA
• Too Much Yet Not Enough: Housing Segmentation and Household Consumption in China – IMF
• Quality, Inequality and Understanding Housing Markets – San Francisco Fed
• Zoning and the American Suburb – Philadelphia Fed 
• The Geography of Wealth: Shocks, Mobility and Precautionary Savings – Dallas Fed
• Homeownership and the Distributional Effects of Local Shocks – Dallas Fed
• Mortgage Lock-in: A Review of the Literature – Atlanta Fed
• Policy for short-term rentals: Balancing property rights and community preferences. Short-term rental restrictions do little to improve housing affordability and often impose sweeping burdens on responsible hosts, guests, and platforms. – Reason

On China:

• China home prices remain weak, keeping pressure on economy – Reuters
• Will fresh incentives give China’s housing market more than a short-lived rebound? – South China Morning Post
• Housing prices surge near new Huanggang Port as buyers eye ‘dual-city’ lifestyle – South China Morning Post

On Australia and New Zealand:

• [Australia] Half of young Australian adults now live with their parents – and it’s not hard to see why. Housing costs are up with renters worst affected and financial stress is also growing, according to the largest survey of its type – The Guardian

On other countries:  

• [Hong Kong] Why a hawkish US Fed won’t derail Hong Kong’s property recovery – South China Morning Post
• [Ireland] Corporate landlord credits profit surge to housing shortage. Firm backed by French insurer Axa nets €24m profit in part from ‘significant undersupply’ in Irish housing market – The Irish Times
• [Germany] Far-left party wins Berlin election, pledging to nationalise housing – Reuters
• [Spain] El precio de la vivienda modera el crecimiento en el 2T – CaixaBank
• [United Kingdom] UK lenders raise mortgage rates as inflation fears intensify. Banks and building societies have added to recent rate increases across their-fixed rate home loans under market pressure – FT
• [United Kingdom] Housebuilders aren’t the only ones who benefit from ‘Help to Buy’. A new equity loan scheme could help people get on the property ladder, though the government might struggle to afford it – FT
• [United Kingdom] Thirty years of buy-to-let: does it have a future? Rents and tenant demand are rising, but landlords are under increasing pressure. – FT