The Unassuming Economist

On cross-country:

• What happened to global house prices in 2021? – Knight Frank
• Demographia International Housing Affordability 2022 – Demographia

On the US:    

• The impact of Treasury’s pilot program on stemming the tide of dirty money into US real estate – Brookings  
• Early signs of Russian pullback in real estate – Axios
• The Threat of Environmental Hazards to the Rental Stock – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• Home mortgage and insurance systems encourage development in climate-risky places, and we all pay the price – Brookings
• U.S. Housing Wealth Skewed Even More Toward Affluent Over Past Decade. From 2010 to 2020, about 71% of increase in housing wealth was gained by high-income households, says National Association of Realtors report – Wall Street Journal
• Stagflation Is Already Here in the Housing Market. Soaring prices and low inventory are causing headaches for homebuilders and buyers but benefiting owners — and therein lies the Fed’s predicament as it seeks to lower inflation. – Bloomberg  

On China

• China’s Banking Regulator Welcomes Home Price Adjustments. Guo says current moves are good as long as not too volatile. Home prices have fallen for five months amid industry crisis – Bloomberg
• Shanghai homebuyers looking to capitalise on eased credit policies have to act fast amid expectations of price rise. Eased credit has prompted potential homebuyers to actively chase flats, property agent says. Average price of secondary homes sold last month was 0.5 per cent higher than in January, and 8.5 per cent higher year on year – South China Morning Post

On other countries:  

• [Norway] Coming of Age: Renovation Premiums in Housing Markets – SSRN
• [Singapore] Pricey Singapore rents go through the roof even as population dips – Reuters
• [United Kingdom] Help to Buy’s legacy: higher prices and richer builders. Now is a good time to pick over the bones of the UK government’s controversial equity loan scheme – FT
• [United Kingdom] Goodbye Londongrad: Russian Oligarchs Put Pressure on U.K. Property Market. Russian oligarchs stormed London’s high-end property market. Now they are under pressure and so is the city’s real-estate sector. – Wall Street Journal
• [United Kingdom] Cost versus availability of loans: which matters more for mortgagors? – Bank of England