The Unassuming Economist

On cross-country:

• Why shares are the new bricks and mortar. Household wealth is flowing from property to stocks – The Economist
• Asian investors turn to housing, real assets as global tension shakes market confidence – South China Morning Post
• Combating the cost-of-living crisis and soaring housing prices – European Parliament
• House prices and rents continued to rise in Q2 2026 – Eurostat
• EU house prices surge, but rents soar in surprising hotspots – The Brussels Times
• Europe’s housing crisis rings alarm bells for the rest of us. Evictions and spiralling rents are the symptom, not the underlying disease of Europe’s rent crisis. – Financial Review
• Europe’s construction sector faces a period of weak growth. Europe’s construction volumes will keep growing but remain subdued. Infrastructure investment and Germany’s gradual rebound are drivers, while higher financing costs and geopolitical risks cap momentum. Housing permits have stabilised, signalling that a stronger residential recovery will have to wait – ING
• The 10 global housing markets most at risk of a bubble in 2026. Home prices in major cities have climbed far beyond local incomes. UBS ranks the 10 urban markets where bubble risk now runs deepest – Quartz

Working papers and conferences:  

• Conference: Housing markets – squaring supply and demand on November 17 – SUERF
• Reassessing the 2000s Housing Cycle After Two Decades of Research – NBER
• Supply Constraints Do Explain House Price and Quantity Growth Across U.S. Cities – Dallas Fed
• The Affordability Paradox: Why Cheaper Homes Are Harder to Finance – St. Louis Fed

On China:

• Wuhan joins major Chinese cities in shift towards completed-home sales – South China Morning Post

On Australia and New Zealand:

• [Australia] Australian home prices fall for sixth month, face worst slump in 30 years – Reuters
• [Australia] Australia’s housing slump could have a silver lining for its banks. Housing slowdown could result in lenders directing capital to more profitable places – FT
• [Australia] The most painful housing market plunge is here. And it’s not prices. Falling house prices are the new national obsession. But there’s another property market metric that spells real trouble for the broader economy. – Financial Review
• [Australia] Australia’s housing market is definitely in a downturn – but let’s put that in perspective – The Guardian
• [Australia] Australia is building a lot of new homes. But is the datacentre boom holding us back? – The Guardian

On other countries:  

• [Canada] The complexity of housing affordability – Bank of Canada
• [Canada] Bank of Canada Won’t Target House Prices With Interest Rates – Bloomberg
• [Canada] Canada is not close to restoring housing affordability, says central bank – Reuters
• [Canada] More turbulence hits Canada’s housing markets to kick off fall – RBC
• [Canada] Toronto Home Prices Fall for a Second Month as Loan Costs Rise – Bloomberg
• [Hong Kong] How a Hong Kong property investor still made US$30 million – after a 40% price cut – South China Morning Post
• [Singapore] Interest-only Research on grasping bureaucrats startles Singapore. It is more revealing about its academic culture than its civil service – The Economist
• [Spain] The right and wrong lessons to learn from Spain’s housing crisis. Evictions and spiralling rents are the symptom, not the underlying disease – FT
• [Spain] Spanish right wing votes down housing crisis plans as protest movement grows. Opposition lawmakers join forces to defeat proposals made by Socialist-led coalition after eviction of 87-year-old – The Guardian
• [Spain] ‘This can’t go on’: tens of thousands protest against housing crisis in Spain – The Guardian
• [Spain] How an 87-year-old Spanish woman became the face of the fight for affordable housing – explainer– The Guardian
• [Spain] Spanish Leader Calls for Elections, Riding Wave of Anger Over Housing Costs. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is gambling that outrage over rising rents will help his socialist party secure a majority – Wall Street Journal
• [Spain] Why Spain Is Holding an Early Election. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, dissolved Parliament on Monday, after months of spiraling crises. – New York Times
• [Spain] Spain’s New Protest Movement Is Putting Class Center Stage. The occupation of Madrid’s Puerta del Sol by housing protesters has brought back memories of the anti-austerity revolt that began in 2011. But where the Indignados used generic populist language, this new movement has a clear left-wing focus on class. – Jacobin
• [Spain] Spain’s Leader Is Betting His Government on the Housing Crisis – Time
• [Spain] Spain approves 21 urgent housing measures after protests ahead of snap election – AP
• [United Kingdom] UK house prices fall as higher mortgage rates ‘subdue’ market. Prospect of interest rate rises weighs on demand for properties – FT
• [United Kingdom] How to revive the UK’s zombified housing market. Can the new Help to Buy scheme end the horror? – FT
• [United Kingdom] Reform MP raises concerns about second homes – then buys one for £800,000. Sarah Pochin bought Anglesey property two days after writing to minister about impact of second home ownership on rural communities – The Guardian
• [United Kingdom] Higher mortgage rates inflict ‘pain’ on UK housing market. Slowdown comes as higher borrowing costs and economic uncertainty damp buyer demand, survey finds – FT
• [United Kingdom] Rate hike fears weigh on UK housing market, RICS says – Reuters