The Unassuming Economist

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• We Can Return to 20-Year Mortgages. Instead of Lowering Mortgage Rates, Shorten Mortgage LENGTHS. – Real Estate Decoded
• Investors Are Piling Into Flint’s Dilapidated Housing Market. Michigan city’s home prices rose 28% in the first quarter, making it the biggest mover in this year’s WSJ/Realtor Housing Market Rankings – Wall Street Journal
• Will New York Freeze the Rent? A Panel Will Cast Its First Vote. The panel that regulates rents for nearly one million apartments is set to weigh in on potential increases for the first time since Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office. – New York Times

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:    

• Federal Threats on the Horizon Are Killing Housing Supply Growth Now – Cato Institute
• Why developers can’t afford to build affordable housing. Building more affordable housing means first addressing the labor problem causing it. – Washington Post
• A Federal Housing Handout Has Ended. Foreclosures Will Follow. A Biden-era program that prevented distressed borrowers from losing their homes has been rolled back – Wall Street Journal
• April 2026 Monthly Housing Report: Spring Market Weathers Economic Uncertainty – Realtor.com
• NAHB Debuts New Resource that Estimates Quarterly Remodeling Spending by State – NAHB
• Remodeling Growth to Slow Sharply in Early 2027 – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• New Home Sales Increase to 682,000 Annual Rate in March. Median New Home Price is Down 16% from the Peak due to Change in Mix – Calculated Risk
• New Home Sales Rise, Supported by Limited Existing Inventory – NAHB
• 1st Look at Local Housing Markets in April – Calculated Risk
• New-Construction Insights: Urban New Builds Are Scarce and Expensive – Realtor.com

On other developments:    

• High Housing Costs Are Pushing Foreclosures to a Six-Year High. Homes with foreclosure filings jump 26% in first quarter, partly reflecting rising property taxes and insurance premiums – Wall Street Journal
• Spring Housing Market Remains Resilient Despite Economic Clouds – Realtor.com
• The Return for These Investors Isn’t Money, It’s More Affordable Housing. Local governments are trying to create housing that is permanently affordable by investing directly in construction. They are rewriting how housing programs have traditionally operated. – New York Times
• Trump privately raises objection to Senate housing bill. The president’s concerns could complicate passage of the largest housing measure taken up by Congress in years. – Politico
• The Homebuyer Vibe: Record 55% Say Their Finances Are Getting Worse. The Other 45% Don’t Check. – Housing Notes  
• The Affordable Housing Hiding in Plain Sight. Smaller, older homes are plentiful in many parts of the US. But the financing system that helps people buy or refurbish these fixer-uppers has broken down. – Bloomberg
• The Spring Housing Market Has a Vibes Problem as ‘Fear of Overpaying’ Takes Hold – Realtor.com  
• Timing of housing bill action in the House remains uncertain. House GOP leadership continues to work through the amended text of a bill aiming to increase housing supply and homeownership. – Politico
• The Congressional Progressive Caucus Affordability Agenda Is a Dud. This populism means many simpler ideas to lower prices through expanding supply get ignored – Cato Institute  
• Home Equity Rates Continue to Decline in First Quarter – ATTOM

On cross-country:

• New Taxes Helped Cool London’s Housing Market. Could That Happen in New York? Economists and real estate agents are calling London’s taxation of wealthy property owners a cautionary tale for New York, where leaders have endorsed a second-home tax. – New York Times

Working papers and conferences:

• The Regional and Demographic Profile of Housing Affordability: Evidence from Greek Households – CEPR
• Housing Wealth Accumulation and Electoral Representation – University of California – San Diego
• Market Power in Mortgage Pricing: the Role of Referral Lending – NBER
• Price and Prejudice: Preferences and Incentives in the Dynamics of Racial Residential Segregation – CEPR
• Upgrading housing – the potential and limits of borrower-based measures – SUERF
• Housing Supply and Racial Integration: Evidence from Building Permits in U.S. Metropolitan Areas – OSF
• The Impact of the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax on Asset Equity and the Housing Market – Journal of Housing Economics  

On Australia and New Zealand:

• [Australia] Why Australian property prices could go backwards by 2030 – The Sydney Morning Herald

On other countries:  

• [Canada] Canada’s deflating housing bubble stymies wealth effect of booming stock market – Reuters
• [Mexico] Mexico City seeks new rent controls. Shortage of affordable homes and protests over US immigrants prompt policy response – FT
• [United Kingdom] The Guardian view on help to buy: entrenching housing inequalities, rather than helping. The Tories’ flagship scheme has aided higher earners most. The latest analysis of its flaws should lead to a rethink – The Guardian
• [United Kingdom] New Taxes Helped Cool London’s Housing Market. Could That Happen in New York? Economists and real estate agents are calling London’s taxation of wealthy property owners a cautionary tale for New York, where leaders have endorsed a second-home tax. – New York Times
• [United Kingdom] The problem with falling house prices. Homes are too expensive in the UK, but a large correction would be bad for everyone — including first-time buyers – FT

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• The Credit Bubble Everybody’s Ignoring. Federally backed student loans and mortgages are seeing increased defaults. Taxpayers are on the hook. – Wall Street Journal
• Reform the Federal Home Loan Banks to finance the housing America needs – Brookings
• The housing “bubble” in the late 2000s looks quaint by comparison now – Alec Stapp
• AEI National Home Price Appreciation (HPA) Index: March 2026 – AEI 
• Event: Vanishing Tax Credits and a Shrinking Market: Who Can Afford to Rent? – Chicago Fed
• Freddie Mac House Price Index Decreased in March; Up only 0.7% Year-over-year. Punta Gorda House Prices Down 21% from Recent Peak, Austin Down 18% – Calculated Risk

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:    

• Final Look at Local Housing Markets in March and a Look Ahead to April Sales – Calculated Risk
• When’s the Best Time to Buy a Home? It depends on whether you prioritize selection or price – Home Economics
• A Bill Aimed at Creating Homes Is Leaving Plots Empty Instead. The Senate housing bill would severely restrict build-to-rent homes. It is already causing projects to pause and financing to dry up. – Wall Street Journal
• Housing Starts Increased to 1.502 million Annual Rate in March – Calculated Risk
• Home Building Shows Signs of Stabilization with Monthly Gain in Starts – NAHB
• A strong month in a fragile market. March data shows momentum, but a build-to-rent crackdown and tighter capital markets threaten to stall future supply – Slow Boring
• Federal Threats on the Horizon Are Killing Housing Supply Growth Now – Cato  
• Why Texas Is Winning the Housing War. Rents are falling in Texas — and the reason is simpler than you think. Derek Thompson, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, tells the Opinion columnist Ezra Klein how Dallas and Austin have shown that the only real cure for a housing crisis is an aggressive, unrelenting surge in supply. – New York Times
• U.S. Housing Starts Rose in March. For February, housing starts fell – Wall Street Journal

On other developments:    

• A troubling plan to revive the frozen US property market. Buyers should beware the real estate dark pools – FT
• Bipartisan House coalition pressures leaders on housing bill. 76 House lawmakers warn investor limits in Senate housing bill could curb supply, squeeze renters and derail affordability push. – Politico
• Congress May Finally Recognize That Mobile Homes Aren’t Really That Mobile. An obscure federal rule requires manufactured homes to be built on a chassis, making them more costly. A bill in Congress would remove the mandate, enacted five decades ago. – New York Times
• Nearly 4 in 5 Americans Don’t Feel Their Financial Future Is Secure. Owning a Home Could Be the Fix – NBER
• Event: Housing Abundance, Where Jobs Sleep, and Good Neighbors Market Intelligence – AEI
• Government Benefits Reduce Housing Cost Burdens – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• Aging Homeowners Poised to Reshape Housing Market in Key Cities – Realtor.com
• Homeownership Rate Ticks Down in Early 2026 – Realtor.com
• This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Housing Market. Are you mad your iPhone costs more than a flip-phone? Then you shouldn’t be so frustrated with home prices either. – Wall Street Journal
• How the War in Iran Is Hurting the U.S. Housing Market. Buyers across the country are cautious, while the Miami market seems immune. – New York Times

On cross-country:

• Are Houses Losing Ground Across Europe? – Visual Capitalist

Working papers and conferences:

• An Olympic opportunity for social housing policy: Lessons from the Athens 2004 Olympic Village – VoxEU
• The regional and demographic profile of housing affordability: Evidence from Greek households – CEPR

On Australia and New Zealand:

• [Australia] Australia’s Housing Crisis Set to Worsen on Iran War Fallout – Bloomberg

On other countries:  

• [Canada] Outlook for Canada Existing-Home Sales Deteriorates on War-Fueled Jump in Rates. The Canadian Real Estate Association says sales in March fell for a fifth straight month, while prices recorded their 14th straight month-over-month decline – Wall Street Journal
• [India] Mumbai’s Skyline Is Soaring. So Is the Pressure on Housing. As global businesses pour into India’s financial capital, millions of low-income residents face redevelopment deals that will determine whether they can stay. – Bloomberg
• [India] India’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Mauritius] Mauritius Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Spain] Spain’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Ukraine] Ukraine’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [United Arab Emirates] Dubai Home Prices Post First Declines After Post-Pandemic Boom – Bloomberg
• [United Kingdom] Why tensions in the Middle East are keeping British mortgage rates high – LSE
• [United Kingdom] Property asking prices rise in April despite higher UK mortgage rates. Increase indicates resilience in housing market even as Iran war led to surge in energy costs – FT
• [United Kingdom] House prices in London’s wealthiest boroughs suffer double-digit decline. Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea property valuations sink close to 2013 levels – FT

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• Improving Affordability, Emerging Spring Demand May Boost House Price Growth Nationally, According to First American Data & Analytics Monthly Home Price Index Report – Fidelity
• Shrinking Rent Savings in DC Ease Path to Homeownership for Aspiring Buyers – Realtor.com

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:    

• Count of Second Homes Declines in 2024 – NAHB
• Event: State Policy Playbook: Expanding and Preserving Attainable Housing with Manufactured Homes on May 27 – Lincoln Institute
• Why Approved Housing Doesn’t Always Turn Into Finished Homes – Realtor.com
• Does Upzoning Work? This New Study Says Yes—Under the Right Conditions – Realtor.com
• Seasonality in American Housing. ‘Spring selling season’ is real—but only where there is a spring – Home Economics
• Late April Is the Best Time to List a Home For Sale. At that time they sell faster—and at a higher price – Home Economics
• Pending Home Sales Increased in March Despite Rising Mortgage Rates and Gas Prices – Realtor.com
• The Disappearance of the Moderately Priced Single-Family Home – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• In a Slow Market, Some Houses Are Still Selling Fast. Buyers are picky while prices and mortgage rates remain high, but homes in move-in condition can go quickly – Wall Street Journal
• NMHC on Apartments: Market Tightness “mostly unchanged” in April Survey
• Multifamily executives have lowered their expectations for total 2026 multifamily starts – Calculated Risk

On other developments:    

• Handbook on Affordability – Cato Institute
• With less immigration, urban growth slowed in 2025 – Peterson Institute
• The race- and place-based factors influencing homeowners insurance in the climate change era – Brookings
• The Challenges and Opportunities Facing Detroit’s Housing Market: A Look at the Data and Local Responses – Chicago Fed
• 3rd Look at Local Housing Markets in March – Calculated Risk  
• Spring Seller Survey: Optimism Meets Reality in the 2026 Housing Market – Realtor.com
• Trump wants $1.5tn for the Pentagon – and cuts to healthcare and housing – The Guardian
• Home Sales Profits Fell Below 45 Percent for the First Time in Five Years – ATTOM
• Why First-Time Buyer Age Isn’t Rising—Even as Housing Gets Less Affordable – AEI
• Housing policy keeps running into the same problems. Federal gridlock and local bottlenecks continue to slow down construction. Meanwhile, people are scrambling for housing. – Slow Boring