Source: CCTV Finance and Economics
The median price of existing home sales in the United States exceeded $350000 for the first time in May, reaching a record high of $350300, up nearly 24% from the same period last year, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday. At the same time, many European countries are also experiencing different degrees of house-buying craze.
According to statistics from the National Association of Realtors, since the outbreak, interest rate cuts and massive stimulus measures in the United States, housing prices have risen rapidly, and in the latest report, prices in all statistical regions rose across the board in May. The year-on-year growth rate of 23.6% was the highest since statistics were available in 1999.
In Europe, house prices are also rising rapidly in many countries. Sales prices of existing homes in the Netherlands rose 12.9% in May from a year earlier, the fastest pace since 2001, according to recent data released by the Dutch Bureau of Statistics. Benefit from low interest rates and stimulus measures under the epidemic.
House prices have risen in many countries around the world last year, and this trend has continued to this day.
So who is driving up prices? Judging from the situation in the United States, the affluent middle class still seems to be the main force. Sales of homes in the $750000 to $1 million range rose 178% in May from a year earlier, but overall, sales of existing homes in the United States have declined for four consecutive months, indicating that the overall housing market is still clearly in short supply, but it also means that higher and higher prices have pushed some people out of the market.
Overall, a major supporting factor in the housing market remains monetary policy. In the United States, the Fed not only sets ultra-low interest rates, but also has $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities in its $120 billion-a-month bond purchases. To support the housing market.
In this regard, Dallas Fed Chairman Kaplan raised questions in a recent speech. Although Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said that the Fed is closely watching changes in the housing market, judging from his latest statement, he still believes that inflation is temporary, and hopes that the resumption of housing construction activities will increase the supply of the housing market, thereby curbing the rapid rise in house prices.
Federal Reserve Chairman Colin Powell: it's not good for housing prices to rise so fast. We are watching very carefully.
It is worth noting that in addition to individual buyers, the participation of institutional buyers is also helping to push up prices. Tuesday, BlackstoneIt has announced that it will buy a housing operator with 17000 properties for 6 billion US dollars, further entering the real estate market. The rise in house prices and the decline in the number of affordable housing have also aroused resentment in some countries.
To this end, Ireland has announced a 10% stamp duty on people who buy more than 10 properties, and in Germany, the topic of limiting rent prices has also attracted attention, while the Hungarian central bank announced an interest rate hike on Tuesday. it became the first EU country to enter the interest rate hike cycle.
