The Unassuming Economist

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• Housing Doesn’t Need Higher Prices—It Needs More Homes – AEI
• A 25-Basis-Point Decline in the Mortgage Rate Prices-In 1.42 Million Households – NAHB
• Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 1.3% year-over-year in December. FHFA House Prices up 1.8% YoY in December – Calculated Risk

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:    

• The ripple effects of banning institutional purchases of single-family rentals – Brookings
• Warren urges Trump to press GOP on reining in Wall Street’s housing purchases. “If Trump wanted to make real changes that would lower costs for the American people, we can make that happen,” said the Massachusetts Democrat. – Politico
• Pending Home Sales Slip in January – Realtor.com
• White House Offers New Details on Its Push to Ban Housing Investors. Trump wants to prohibit investors that own more than 100 homes from buying more, potentially banning hundreds of investment firms – Wall Street Journal
• New Home Sales Close 2025 with Modest Gains – NAHB
• New-Home Sales Heat Up To End 2025, but Annual Total Falls Short of 2024 – Realtor.com
• On the Q4 Advance Release: GDP vs. “Core GDP” and Residential Investment – Econbrowser
• 1.600 million Total Housing Completions in 2025 including Manufactured Homes. Altos: Active single-family inventory was up 1.4% week-over-week – Calculated Risk
• High-End Construction Really Does Help Everyone. A new rung at the top of the housing ladder permits people lower down to climb up. – The Atlantic
• AEI State Housing Supply Legislative Update – AEI
• US single-family home price growth slows in December, FHFA says – Reuters
• Housing’s Share of GDP Declined Further at the End of 2025 – NAHB

On other developments:    

• Trump Vows To Make Housing Affordable While Keeping Values Up as He Praises the ‘Golden Age of America’ in State of the Union Speech – Realtor.com
• Trump administration moves to end housing assistance for mixed immigration families – Reuters
• It’s a Buyer’s Market, but Homeownership Eludes Many Americans. A growing split between low-to-middle-income families and wealthy households is changing who has access to homeownership now. – New York Times
• Four Years Into the High-Rate Era: How the Housing Market Changed and Why Prices Didn’t Reset – Realtor.com
• Beyond the State of the Union: Continuing a path to housing affordability – Zillow
• The Housing Market Is Tilting Back Toward Buyers. After years of bidding wars, there are now more sellers than buyers, forcing price cuts — even as high rates continue to narrow the entryway. – New York Times
• Colorado’s Distinct Trends in Affordable Housing Development. Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) are among the most common financing tools for the development of affordable housing units. Over the past 15 years, the development of LIHTC-funded housing units decelerated nationwide but accelerated in Colorado. – Kansas City Fed  

On cross-country:

• Global House Price Index Change (Q4 2025) – Global Property Guide

Working papers and conferences:

• When Houses Outrun Paychecks: The Lost Decades of Housing Affordability – St. Louis Fed
• Seminar: Nonpayment and Eviction in the Rental Housing Market- VIOS Spring 52 on April 29 – CEPR
• Urban slums: Stepping-stone for some and traps (or shields) for others – VoxEU
• Dollar funding and housing markets: the role of non-US global banks – BIS

On China:

• Chinese homebuyers are enraged by shoddy building standards. Crooked walls and broken promises are harming China’s property market – The Economist
• China housing market shows no clear turning point as price declines continue – South China Morning Post

On Australia and New Zealand:

• [Australia] We joke that to afford a home in Australia we must wait for our parents to die. It feels like a deal with the devil – The Guardian
• [Australia] Building 1.2m homes will barely put a dent in Australia’s housing affordability, one expert says. Here’s why. Thinking ‘supply is the answer’ lets politicians dodge a much more difficult conversation about tax – for investors and owners – The Guardian
• [Australia] Australia plans to sell off defence land to developers – but could it deliver homes instead? – The Conversation
• [New Zealand] New Zealand Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [New Zealand] New Zealand home prices dip in January, holiday lull hits demand – Reuters

On other countries:  

• [Canada] Canada Home Prices Slide Again as Snowstorm Chills Buying – Bloomberg
• [Canada] Canadian Home Sales — January 2026 – Scotiabank
• [Canada] Canada: Housing prices down in January – National Bank of Canada
• [Egypt] Egypt Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Ireland] Limiting short-term tourism lets won’t increase housing supply but will damage rural economies. While Airbnb-style apartments in urban areas should be restricted, regional Ireland, where tourism is the biggest employer, should be left alone – The Irish Times
• [Italy] Milan Has an Affordable Housing Crisis. Can the Olympic Village Help?The accommodation for athletes includes a video game lounge, massage room and a range of food options. Starting from September, it will house students — or at least those who can afford the rent. – New York Times
• [Romania] Romania’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [South Africa] South Africa’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Spain] Spain Unveils Public Investment Fund To Tackle Housing Crisis – Barron’s
• [Thailand] Thailand’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [United Kingdom] January’s Gains Endure as High Supply Tempers February U.K. House-Price Growth, Rightmove Says. Rightmove said the number of homes for sale was at an 11-year high – Wall Street Journal
• [United Kingdom] UK flat prices fall after sharp drop in London. Fall is in contrast to other property types and reflects desire for more space and reluctance to pay high service charge – FT
• [United Kingdom] UK Residential Land Prices May Have Bottomed, Knight Frank Says – Bloomberg
• [United Arab Emirates] UAE Residential Property Price Report – January 2026 – REIDIN
• [Venezuela] Los precios de las viviendas en Venezuela suben mientras venezolanos en el exterior evalúan comprar. La captura de Nicolás Maduro y las expectativas de inversión petrolera han empujado el alza de los precios. – New York Times

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• Rent Control: A Proven Way to Make Housing Scarce and Expensive – AEI
• Where Are Mortgage Delinquencies Rising the Most? – New York Fed
• Where mortgage rates are headed in 2026, according to 21 experts. Among the 21 mortgage rate forecasts tracked by ResiClub, the average prediction is 6.18% for calendar year 2026. – Forbes
• Revitalizing Bank Mortgage Lending, One Step with Basel – FED
• Federal Reserve Wants To Loosen Bank Rules To Boost Mortgage Lending – Realtor.com
• The Federal Reserve Wants to Change How You Shop for a Mortgage. Proposal aims to get banks back in the market by easing requirements – Wall Street Journal
• A new mortgage crisis is quietly hitting those who can least afford it. This week, there was yet another warning that many homeowners might be headed for trouble. – Washington Post
• Washington Inflates Credit Scores and Another Housing Bubble. Why is the Trump administration continuing the Biden push for ‘inclusive’ credit scores? – Wall Street Journal
• January 2026 Rental Report: Renter Conditions Improve Across U.S. Markets, With Notable Increases in Vacancies – Realtor.com
• States Hold the Keys to Greater Mortgage Access for Manufactured Home Buyers. Updates to real estate titling laws could reduce costs and complexities for borrowers – Pew
• Mamdani Fills Out Housing Board in Push to Freeze Rent. Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed six members to the Rent Guidelines Board, which decides whether rents can go up in nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments. – New York Times

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:    

• Residential Building Worker Wages Slow in 2025 Amid Cooling Housing Activity – NAHB
• Home Sales in January Posted Biggest Monthly Decline in Nearly Four Years. Freezing temperatures and high home prices snuffed out the sales momentum from previous months – Wall Street Journal
• US existing home sales drop to more than two-year low in January – Reuters
• January 2026 Hottest Housing Markets – Realtor.com
• Congressional housing deal faces new hurdle as Trump pushes investor ban. The issue is another area in which the president’s populist ideas are clashing with GOP free-market orthodoxy. – Politico
• Yes, Housing Supply Will Help, But It’s Not Everything – Forbes
• Cost of Credit for Builders & Developers at Its Lowest Since 2022 – NAHB
• The housing market is not getting much better. And neither is inflation – FT
• Builder Sentiment Edges Lower on Affordability Concerns – NAHB
• Part 2: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-February 2026 – Calculated Risk
• Housing Starts Increased to 1.404 million Annual Rate in December – Calculated Risk
• Land Grab for Data Centers Is One More Obstacle to Much-Needed Housing. Resistance grows to more land sales in Northern Virginia; ‘They’d rather have homes than data’ – Wall Street Journal
• US homebuilder sentiment remains subdued amid affordability challenges – Reuters
• Overall Housing Starts Inch Lower in 2025 – NAHB
• US single-family housing starts rebound in January, building permits decline – Reuters

On other developments:    

• A Simple Test of What People Really Think About Immigration. If you want to see whether immigration is making cities better or worse, just look at property values. – Marginal Revolution
• The decline of single-earner housebuyers in America. A tale of opportunities and costs – The Economist
• How Congress Plans to Take On the Housing Crisis. Modular housing, easier access to home loans are among proposals lawmakers are working on – Wall Street Journal
• A new bill aims to make homes affordable again. Here’s how. The House has passed the Housing for the 21st Century Act. Here’s how experts say it will make it easier (and cheaper) to buy affordable homes – Quartz
• Congress just passed a major housing bill. Will it actually lower your home price? The House passed a wide-ranging housing bill with bipartisan support, aiming to cut costs by streamlining zoning, financing, and federal programs. – Fast Company
• The ‘New Housing Crisis’ Isn’t New. What It Means If You’re Buying or Selling. – Barron’s  
• A ground-floor Costco is proving what’s broken in housing. Thrive Living’s partnership with Costco is the exception that proves the rule about what’s broken in housing. – Washington Post
• How Rising Costs Affect Home Affordability – NAHB
• How Housing Affordability Conditions Vary Across States and Metro Areas – NAHB
• 64% of Single Americans Struggle to Afford Housing, Compared With 39% of Married People – Redfin
• America’s Affordability Crisis Is a Housing Shortage. We Can Fix It in Three Steps – AEI
• Three’s a Crowd. With housing costs at an all-time high, more couples are living with roommates to manage the load. – New York Times
• The affordability crisis is driving unprecedented price cuts in the housing market, Realtor.com says – Fortune
• Disney-Led Theme Park Expansions Reshape Housing Markets – Realtor.com
• Homebuyer Down Payments Shrink for First Time in 5 Months – Redfin
• More States Requiring Landlords to Disclose Flood Risk, but Laws Vary Nationwide – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies

On cross-country:

• 68% of people living in EU households own their home – Eurostat
• MEPs adopt proposals to tackle Europe’s housing crisis – European Parliament
• There are reasons why housing has become the top concern among European citizens. This analysis examines the recent evolution of the European residential market and explores differences between countries in a context where housing has become the main concern among Europeans. What we see is a cycle marked by successive shocks and an insufficient supply, which is now emerging as the main source of tension. – CaixaBank

Working papers and conferences:

• Housing policy, inflation, and monetary policy. An unorthodox view – Brookings
• Understanding CPI shelter inflation: The importance of the new-tenant/all-tenant rent gap – Journal of Housing Economics
• Residential Segregation and Unequal Access to Local Public Services in India: Evidence from 1.5m Neighborhoods – NBER
• Call for Papers: 6th Workshop on Rent Control on June 22-23 – DIW Berlin

On Australia and New Zealand:

• [Australia] Australia’s Rental Affordability Hits Record Low, Property Consultancy Cotality Says – Bloomberg
• [Australia] Will the government finally deliver a housing policy that stops making a bad situation worse? The 5% deposit guarantee has done what everyone expected to housing affordability. But fixing the capital gains tax discount would be a great move – The Guardian

On other countries:  

• [Hong Kong] Hong Kong reserves 4,000 homes for tenants hit by subdivided flats overhaul – South China Morning Post
• [United Kingdom] UK house prices rise by most since November 2024, Halifax says – Reuters
• [United Kingdom] Residential Research Update – February 2026 – Savills
• [United Kingdom] UK first-time buyers too pessimistic about securing a property, study says. Building Societies Association finds many are gloomy about their prospects of financing a purchase – FT 

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• Sunderji’s Paradox. Why rising incomes never seem to make rent more affordable – Home Economics
• The Condo Crisis. Prices are falling in most major metros – Home Economics
• Hartford tops Zillow’s forecast for hottest housing markets in 2026. Tight inventory is expected to define the most competitive markets in the year ahead. – Zillow
• Homes are on track to be affordable in 20 major US markets by year’s end. After years of strain, buyers should see small affordability wins this year – Zillow
• Inflation Outlook: It Is Not All About Housing – Apollo
• The Housing Markets Seeing the Sharpest Home Price Declines – Realtor.com
• February ICE Mortgage Monitor: “Home price growth slowed to its weakest pace in more than a decade”. Several Southern markets now have 10%+ mortgaged homes underwater – Calculated Risk
• Weaker Demand, Unchanged Lending Conditions for Residential Mortgages in Fourth Quarter – NAHB
• Trump wants lower mortgage rates. His Fed pick may push the other way. Kevin Warsh has long criticized the Fed’s $6.6 trillion balance sheet, arguing it distorts markets. Shrinking it could put upward pressure on mortgage rates. – Washington Post
• Where Are Mortgage Delinquencies Rising the Most? – New York Fed

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:    

• The Size of the Housing Shortage: 2024 Data – NAHB
• The Sun Belt goes Vertical. A million new apartments, but still behind where coastal cities started. – Home Economics
• 2026 Housing Market Mood: Buyers Are Cautious, Sellers Are Showing Up, and Agents See Signs of Busier Spring Ahead – Redfin
• 1st Look at Local Housing Markets in January – Calculated Risk
• Why Building Alone Won’t Solve the Housing Crisis. An imbalance in the kind of housing getting built and rising insurance costs are impeding housing progress, according to two new reports. – New York Times
• Developers are converting empty office buildings to keep up with demand for housing – NPR
• How Hosting the Super Bowl Signals a San Francisco Real Estate Renaissance – Realtor.com 
• Proposed Ban on Investors in the Housing Market Hits a Wall in Congress. White House is pressuring GOP in Congress to add an investor ban to existing housing bills, but lawmakers have pushed back – Wall Street Journal
• Foreclosure Activity Rises Annually for the Eleventh Straight Month, Extending the Trend into 2026 – ATTOM
• 2nd Look at Local Housing Markets in January – Calculated Risk

On other developments:    

• House Passes Major Housing Bill Aimed at Home Affordability and To Speed Up Construction – Realtor.com
• What Is the Housing for the 21st Century Act? – Realtor.com
• On housing, Trump’s problem isn’t willpower. It’s time. Some White House allies acknowledge what they face in the coming months is less a policy fight than a messaging battle on housing. – Politico
• Will Trump’s Order on Housing Help? – New York Times
• The Right Fix for Affordable Housing Finally Hit Congress – Bloomberg  
• California’s blockbuster housing legislation faces rocky rollout. State Sen. Scott Wiener, the author of Senate Bill 79, has not ruled out postponing the July 1 implementation date for the new law because of widespread confusion over what it requires. – Politico
• Unaffordable Housing Impacts How Americans Consume, Work and Invest. As housing prices climb out of reach, discouraged Americans may be reaching for crypto and other risky investments. – Bloomberg
• Maybe America Needs Some New Cities. It sounds a bit kooky to promise a whole city from scratch. But it has been done before — and might just help solve the housing crisis. – New York Times
• Two Decades of Zillow Data Show How the U.S. Housing Market Has Changed Since 2006. How shifting prices, rising housing wealth and a deepening supply gap have reshaped housing over the past 20 years – Zillow
• Homebuyers Are Gaining Leverage as Housing Market Cools—Giving Them More Time To Purchase – Realtor.com
• Is there an affordability crisis? – EconoFact Chats
• Trump housing policy is a mess and it won’t fix the US housing crisis. Deregulation alone can’t make homes affordable when rising inequality, not zoning, is what is driving prices up – The Guardian
• Is the Starter Home Making a Comeback? – Realtor.com
• Hearing on “Homeownership and the Role of the Secondary Mortgage Market”. History has proven that financial markets will provide funds for housing without the federal government socializing investors’ losses. – Cato