The Unassuming Economist

On cross-country:

• Western Cities Want to Slow Flood of Chinese Home Buying. Nothing Works. – Wall Street Journal
• International comparisons of mortgage markets, part II – Rutgers Center for Real Estate
• A Guide to Some of My Blog Posts, Hither and Yon – Steve Malpezzi
• Residential investment and economic activity: evidence from the past five decades – Bank for International Settlements
• Q1 2018: Strong house price rises continue in Europe, US and parts of Asia – Global Property Guide
• Book Review: Municipal Dreams: The Rise and Fall of Social Housing, by John Boughton – Financial Times
• Affordable housing solutions in pipes, containers and 3D printers – Reuters
• The financing of renovation in the social housing sector: A comparative study in 6 European countries – Housing Europe
• Why loan-to-value matters when you shop for a mortgage – Financial Times
• Blackstone remains global king of property funds – Financial Times

On the US:

• Can a new mayor fix San Francisco’s housing and homelessness problems? – Economist
• The Political and Policy Conundrum of Rent Control – Zillow
• A First Look at the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, the Economy, and Real Estate – Steve Malpezzi
• The Death of the Small Apartment Building – Bloomberg
• Why reducing urban traffic congestion can help the American middle class – London School of Economics
• California’s emigrants aren’t all moving to cheaper housing markets – MarketWatch
• After Years of Disinvestment, City Public Housing Is Poised to Get U.S. Oversight – New York Times
• In Vancouver, a Housing Frenzy That Even Owners Want to End – New York Times
• Los Angeles tenants increasingly engaging in rent strikes amid housing crisis – Washington Post
• Strategies for Responding to Gentrification – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• The Sharing Economy and Housing Affordability: Evidence from Airbnb – SSRN
• The Latest HUD Proposal Would Exacerbate the Housing Insecurity Crisis – Center for American Progress
• Shifting the risk of mortgage defaults from taxpayers to investors – Brookings
• Home Value Forecast: Does Quality of School System Impact Home Prices? – Pro Teck
• Housing Was Undersupplied during the Great Housing Bubble – George Mason University
• Response to the Federal Housing Finance Agency Request for Comment on How Its Regulations May Be Made More Effective and Less Burdensome – George Mason University
• Underwriting Loosening for Conventional Conforming Loans – CoreLogic
• Booming cities, unintended consequences – McKinsey
• S. house prices to rise at twice the speed of inflation and pay: Reuters poll – Reuters
• ‘YIMBY’ call to build more housing divides booming San Francisco – Reuters
• Red Tape Is What Keeps Housing Unaffordable – Foundation For Economic Education
• Boston’s housing market, in three charts – Urban Institute
• The Tight Housing Supply Is Raising Prices – Wall Street Journal
• Seattle Declares War on Workers With Wage and Housing Regulations – Mises Institute
• S. Home Flipping Rate Matches Six-Year High in Q1 2018 – ATTOM

On other countries:

• [Australia] Australia’s House Prices Retreat Appears Entrenched – Wall Street Journal
• [Canada] OPINION: All three major parties ignore real solutions to Ontario’s housing crunch – Toronto Sun
• [Canada] Steel and Aluminum Tariffs Could Leave Canada’s Housing Sector on Shakier Foundation – Wall Street Journal
• [China] Luxury Real Estate Comes to Urban Chinatowns – Wall Street Journal
• [China] China pushes state banks into home rental market at their own risk – Reuters
• [Denmark] Danish non-profit social housing and mortgage institutes – a common stand on future financial regulation – European Covered Bond Council
• [France] Airbnb: The home-sharing site’s number one destination is Paris, where it stands accused of driving up rents and house prices – Financial Times
• [Germany] Germany to toughen laws to stem steep rent hikes – Reuters
• [Ireland] Home mortgage debt outstanding legacy of Ireland’s financial crisis – Reuters
• [Ireland] Ireland’s housing crisis – The case for a European cost rental model – Nevin Economic Research Institute
• [Netherlands] Exploding house prices and imploding affordability in urban housing markets – Rabobank
• [Norway] Strong Norway house prices fuel August or September rate hike view – Reuters
• [United Kingdom] ‘Reform land valuation’ call to unlock housing plots in the UK – Financial Times
• [United Kingdom] Brexit puts a ceiling on London housing demand, prices – Reuters poll – Financial Times

Photo by Aliis Sinisalu