Finance & economics | The great escape

Why house prices are surging once again

In America, Australia and parts of Europe, property markets have shrugged off higher interest rates

Aerial view of a residential city area, with a winding road descending a hillside
Photograph: Getty Images
|San Francisco

Is a fresh housing boom under way? In April a house-price index for the world, excluding China, rose by more than 3% year on year (see chart 1 ). American house prices are 6.5% higher than a year ago, Australian ones have increased by 5% and Portuguese ones are soaring. In other countries, the market looks surprisingly strong given years of high interest rates (see chart 2).

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The great escape”

From the June 22nd 2024 edition

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