House prices
Terms-of-trade shocks affect house price fluctuations – paper
Bank of Canada research shows terms of trade shocks explain large percentage of variance in house price growth; most of the variation associated with changes in real import prices, authors say
Denmark’s economy set for a boom, says Rohde
Latest release of reports show Danish economy is resilient and set to grow in the next two years; governor Rohde still concerned about house prices
Norges Bank deputy warns of vulnerabilities in financial system
“Sharp rise” in property prices and high household indebtedness are a concern, the latest financial stability report reveals; banking sector’s largest corporate exposure is to the real estate market
‘Overoptimism’ a factor in house price bubbles, Danish paper finds
Authors highlight how sentiment can become “decoupled” from economic fundamentals under certain circumstances
Riksbank signals low rates will stay longer
Swedish central bank says rates likely to remain on hold for longer than planned, with chance of an inter-meeting asset-purchase extension
BoE paper tests agent-based model of macro-prudential policy
Researchers use agent-based model to capture diversity of behaviour between different housing market participants, pointing to risks from larger buy-to-let sector
National Bank of Denmark warns of growing bubble in Copenhagen
Report says housing market in country as a whole looks relatively stable, but Copenhagen’s market is close to the danger zone, following first “statistical bubble test”
Swedish inflation starting to look stronger, as Riksbank holds
Outlook is “fraught with uncertainty”, central bank says, though the domestic economy seems to be returning to more normal levels
Stevens highlights housing market improvement at final monetary policy meeting
Reserve Bank of Australia leaves rates on hold at Steven’s last monetary policy meeting; board assesses the current policy stance as appropriate to foster growth and achieve inflation target
RBNZ tweaks LVR rules following consultation
New rules to apply to investors nationwide, placing 5% “speed limit” for lending above LVRs of 60%; proposed new measures to come into force in October due to banks’ deadline concerns
Property prices closing in on pre-crisis levels – BIS statistics
Statistics for the first quarter show advanced economy prices approaching levels last seen before the financial crisis, but emerging markets see a dip; research links house prices to credit conditions
Tighter mortgage lending rules proposed in New Zealand
Central bank looks to crack down on investor lending with high loan-to-value ratios, while tightening the rules for most loans to owner-occupiers; new tools also on the table
Sweden’s FI gauges impact of debt-to-income limit
Financial regulator tries to attach values to the growth and stability impact of DTI limits, one potential tool for tackling rising household indebtedness
Argentina releases first inflation data following statistics overhaul
Prices for transportation, food and housing drive up inflation, which rose 4.2% in May; IMF reviews progress next month
Liikanen calls for more macroprudential tools in Finland
Bank of Finland governor says new tools should be provided before there is a need to use them; warns of risks associated with growing debt-to-income ratios alongside weaker long-term growth
Irish bad bank shifts focus to delivering new property
National Asset Management Agency is shifting its focus to projects aimed at developing commercial and residential property; asset disposals to be reduced in scale as body winds down
Low rates driving up housing share of income – RBA paper
Share of aggregate US income from capital is on the rise, and housing accounts for a large portion; low nominal rates explain strong demand for housing, economist argues
‘Urgent’ measures needed to counteract household debt – Riksbank report
Finansinspektionen needs powers to implement effective macro-prudential policies in order to combat household indebtedness, latest financial stability report says
Colombian paper sees role for international co-ordination of housing policy
This may be needed where national policies have “important” cross-border effects; discusses macro-prudential policy and capital controls
Riksbank-FI merger not on the table – Swedish minister
Per Bolund says the government is not actively considering radical reform options discussed by the Riksbank, and defends Swedish approach to macro-prudential independence
Paper finds Norwegian housing market is ‘micro efficient’
Research published by Norges Bank exploits dataset comprising 472,378 housing transactions; finds little persistence but a lot of reversion in sale prices
Prudential measures may create risks for developers – RBA
Tighter regulations designed to tackle housing risks may cause problems for large building projects started before the tougher rules came in
Cunliffe: UK housing risks back on the rise
BoE deputy governor says household balance sheets are “stretched” and some risks are growing; suggests dominance of debt as housing finance is undesirable, but unlikely to change
Dudley says US households responding more cautiously to house price growth
New York Fed report finds housing debt has been relatively flat over past few years despite house prices rising steeply over the period; points to higher principal debt repayments