The Unassuming Economist

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• April ICE Mortgage Monitor: “Annual home price growth was 0.4% in March” – Calculated Risk
• Inflation Adjusted House Prices 2.3% Below 2022 Peak. Price-to-rent index is 9.7% below 2022 peak – Calculated Risk

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:    

• America Underbuilt Inc.: The Supply Side of the U.S. Housing Challenge – St Louis Fed
• 1st Look at Local Housing Markets in March – Calculated Risk

On other developments:    

• How a population boom changed North Dakota’s housing markets. Latest data show signs that pre-boom affordability levels haven’t returned everywhere – Minneapolis Fed
• Housing market trends favor home shoppers, but Iran war clouds the outlook for mortgage rates – AP
• Where the New Houses Are—and What That Says About Growth – Barron’s
• Congress is threatening a leading source of single-family homes. A great, bipartisan housing bill could undermine its own objective. – Washington Post
• Mamdani pledged affordable New York housing in his campaign. How is that going? Mayor’s decision to appeal court order that the city must expand its housing voucher program has angered advocates for the homeless – The Guardian
• The housing crisis is a storytelling problem. NIMBY activists dominate the narrative. Pro-housing voices need new themes. – Fast Company
• Event: Bridging the Gap: Unlocking Strategies to Boost Housing Supply on May 4 – Milken Institute
• The Solution to the Housing Crisis That Nobody Has Fixed Yet – Realtor.com 
• This might be the best time to buy a home in years, depending on where you live. A new report shows most major housing markets are no longer dominated by sellers. But rising mortgage rates could offset gains. – Fast Company
• Average Single-Family Home Property Tax Bill Rose 3 Percent in 2025 – ATTOM
• Buyers are entering housing market later in life. Affordability issues, supply crunch mean people are older when they purchase their first homes. – Washington Post

On cross-country:

• The world’s most unaffordable housing is not where you think. Asia’s great cities will founder without more reasonably priced homes – The Economist
• The future runs through African cities. Getting African cities right is a defining development challenge of our time. – Ideas in Development
• Analytical house prices indicators – OECD  
• Residential Mortgage Rates by Country – Global Property Guide
• Addressing the housing crisis through the Recovery and Resilience Facility – European Parliament
• English speaking countries are miserable. Is housing to blame? – Home Economics

Working papers and conferences:

• Workshop on Global Housing Markets and the Macroeconomy – Dallas Fed
• A Critique of an Urban Studies Article on the Housing Supply Impact of Land Use Reforms – Econ Journal Watch
• Reply to “A Critique of an Urban Studies Article on the Housing Supply Impact of Land Use Reforms” – Econ Journal Watch
• Do State Abortion Bans Affect Housing Markets? – Econofact
• A Tale of Two Countries: The Real Estate Crises in 1990s Japan and Contemporary China – Brookings
• Temporal Focal Points and Economic Outcomes: Evidence from U.S. Mortgage Lending – Philadelphia Fed

On Australia and New Zealand:

• [Australia] Australia’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Australia] Sydney, Melbourne Home Prices Decline as Affordability Bites – Bloomberg
• [Australia] Australia’s land value has gone through the roof. Where does that leave young people who want to buy a home? – The Guardian

On other countries:  

• [Canada] Prime Minister Carney secures new partnership with Ontario to cut taxes on housing and boost supply – Prime Minister of Canada
• [Canada] Not every zoning change in Vancouver needs its own public hearing – Fraser Institute
• [Cambodia] Cambodia’s Residential Real Estate Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Japan] Japan Residential Real Estate Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Japan] Austria’s The People Snapping Up Japanese Houses That the Locals Won’t Touch. Vacated homes are a hot item for Americans and other foreigners. Just watch out for termites. – Wall Street Journal
• [South Africa] Cape Town Housing Is Booming. Many Residents Are Unhappy About It. A shortage of affordable housing in the coastal city in South Africa has forced many people to live far outside the city center, while tourists occupy prime real estate. – New York Times
• [South Africa] Cape Town’s Housing Problem – New York Times
• [United Kingdom] Latest House Price Index Report – Hometrack
• [United Kingdom] Housing market to soften amid Iran war fallout, Nationwide says – Capital Economics
• [Vietnam] Vietnam’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• US Housing Outlook: Higher Mortgage Rates Not Helpful – Apollo
• Mamdani confronts the politics of property taxes as rent freeze looms. Larger rental buildings, including those that would be affected by Mamdani’s proposed rent freeze, face a higher tax burden than other homes. – Politico
• Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 0.9% year-over-year in January. FHFA House Prices up 1.6% YoY in January – Calculated Risk
• Freddie Mac House Price Index Decreased in February; Up only 0.4% Year-over-year. Punta Gorda House Prices Down 23% from Recent Peak, Austin Down 18% – Calculated Risk
• FHFA’s Q4 National Mortgage Database: Outstanding Mortgage Rates, LTV and Credit Scores – Calculated Risk
• U.S. FHFA House Price Growth Continues to Decelerate in January – Haver Analytics
• US single-family home prices rise moderately in January, FHFA says – Reuters
• The Iran war is raising your mortgage rate. Inventory is finally rising, but war-driven increases in mortgage rates are making it harder for buyers to take advantage. – Slow Boring

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:    

• Are New York’s Environmental Concerns Worsening a Housing Shortage? Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing to exempt a majority of new housing from state environmental reviews, arguing that sufficient safeguards are in place at the local level. – New York Times
• How to Keep the Suburbs Tenant-Free. The housing bill now in Congress may seek to increase the housing supply—but not for renters. – The Atlantic
• Japan Is Placing a Multibillion-Dollar Bet on the U.S. Housing Market. Home construction is slowing, but Japanese investors and builders are moving in anyway and soon will own 6% of the business in America – Wall Street Journal
• Reconciliation 2.0 Should Put Housing Supply First – Cato
• Supply Struggles: A Multifamily Melodrama – Richmond Fed 
• Trump Tax Law’s Affordable Housing Boost Hits Snag – Bloomberg

On other developments:    

• The Evolving Role of Single-Family Rental Investors—and How They Can Leverage Their Property Management and Rehab Capacity for Greater Impact – Urban Institute
• Housing Is Stable, but Still Out of Reach for Many Americans. As mortgage rates rise and home prices remain elevated, Wharton’s Susan Wachter explains why the U.S. housing market’s core problem is not financial instability, but affordability — and what can be done to address it. – Wharton
• Bad Policy Made Housing Unaffordable. We are simply asking the Trump administration to reform an outdated system. – Wall Street Journal

On cross-country:

• Bedrooms for sale highlight the depths of Europe’s housing crisis – Reuters
• Housing crisis: why prices are rising and what the EU is doing about it. Rising house prices and rents are a big concern for many Europeans. Read on for key facts and what the EU is doing about the issue. – European Parliament

Working papers and conferences:

• How Costly Is Permitting in Housing Development? – MIT
• When Monetary and Macroprudential Policies Tighten Together: Evidence from the Czech Mortgage Market – Czech National Bank
• Call for Papers: 6th Workshop on Rent Control on June 22-23 – DIW Berlin
• Nighttime light metrics for analysing urban-rural economic disparities: A case study in 36 Chinese metropolitan areas – Cities

On China:

• The rotten tail of China’s property bust. Officials want to spread the pain as widely as possible – The Economist
• March Kicks Off the Start of Homebuying Season: Are You Ready? – Realtor.com

On Australia and New Zealand:

• [Australia] Australia’s home prices keep rising in February, defying rate hike – Reuters
• [Australia] Sydney Home Prices Flatline While Rest of Australia Stays Strong – Bloomberg
• [Australia] Desperate first home buyers are fuelling price ‘up-crash’ at lower end of market, experts say. Biggest house price increases in February come in smaller capital cities as buyers undeterred by interest rate hikes – The Guardian
• [New Zealand] New Zealand Rolls Out the Welcome Mat for Wealthy American Home Buyers. The country’s budding startup scene and changes to its Active Investor Plus visa program have led to an influx of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and advisers – Wall Street Journal
• [New Zealand] New Zealand House Prices Edge Higher, While Buyers Stay Cautious – Bloomberg

On other countries:  

• [Austria] Austria’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Canada] Toronto Home Prices Decline for a Ninth Month as Fears Persist – Bloomberg
• [Canada] Mortgage Renewal Mission Possible: The Final Reckoning – TD
• [Chile] Chile’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Finland] Finland’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Hungary] Hungary’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Indonesia] Indonesia’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Korea] Home Prices in Seoul’s Posh Districts Fall After Yearlong Rally – Bloomberg
• [Peru] Peru’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Romania] Romania’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [Sweden] Sweden’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• Thailand’s Residential Property Market Analysis 2026 – Global Property Guide
• [United Kingdom] UK house prices ‘bunching’ to avoid mansion tax. Buyers and sellers are already pricing homes under new thresholds – FT
• [United Kingdom] UK house prices rise in February as chancellor avoids ‘negative speculation’. Rachel Reeves’s upcoming spring forecast has not led to slowdown, as property tax rumours did in November – The Guardian
• [United Kingdom] UK mortgage approvals fall to lowest level in 2 years. Drop reflects uncertainty among homebuyers around chancellor Rachel Reeves’ November Budget – FT
• [United Kingdom] How the UK mortgage market became so unstable. The market has not been this jittery in decades — and that was before the Middle East conflict – FT
• [United Kingdom] London landlord begins evictions ahead of new renters’ rights law. Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital owns several apartment blocks in capital as well as Trocadero centre in Piccadilly – FT  

On prices, rent, and mortgage:    

• Relief for US homeowners as mortgage rates hit lowest since 2022. Decline in benchmark rate helps bolster Donald Trump’s claim housing affordability is improving under his administration – FT
• The Disappearing American Mortgage. Young and working-class people aren’t getting on the property ladder anymore. – The Atlantic
• Price Growth for Building Materials Slows to Start the Year – NAHB
• A dangerous playbook is being revived for the giant US housing agencies. Increased buying of mortgage securities by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae marks a return to a risky business model – FT
• Did Mortgages with Locked-in Low Rates Lead to Rising House Prices? – Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
• Asking Rents Continue to Decline Year-over-year – Calculated Risk
• House Price Appreciation by State and Metro Area: Fourth Quarter 2025 – NAHB

On sales, permits, starts, and supply:    

• Private Residential Construction Spending Edges Higher in December – NAHB
• Final Look at Local Housing Markets in January. Altos: Active single-family inventory was down 1.4% week-over-week – Calculated Risk
• Multifamily Absorption Rate Remains Below 50% – NAHB
• US housing supply gap widens further in 2025, Realtor.com says – Reuters
• Who we count shapes how we measure housing supply and affordability – Brookings

On other developments:    

• Is the Housing Market Going to Crash? – Redfin
• Homeowners Stay Put 12 Years, Stifling the US Housing Market – Bloomberg
• Senate bill to help Americans afford housing nears the finish line. The long-awaited bipartisan legislation has White House backing and includes a measure to ban large investors from buying hundreds of homes. – Washington Post
• Mamdani Meets Again With Trump, Emerging With Two Unexpected Victories. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he and President Trump discussed building housing in New York City, and he appeared to secure the release of a Columbia student detained by ICE on Thursday. – New York Times
• A new car, home feel out of reach for middle-class Americans, poll finds. Most renters — including those earning six figures — doubt they could afford a home in the foreseeable future. – Washington Post
• Q4 Update: Delinquencies, Foreclosures and REO – Calculated Risk
• Housing has a data problem – Brookings
• The ROAD to Letting Treasury Pick Winners and Losers in Investing – Cato
• The 5 Strongest States Leading the ‘Two-Speed’ Housing Market – Realtor.com 
• Affordability Posts Mild Gains in Second Half of 2025 but Crisis Continues – NAHB