UK Only Article:
standard article
Issue:
That sinking feeling (again)
Fly Title:
Popping property bubbles
Rubric:
House prices in Europe are losing touch with reality again. Deflating the bubbles will not be easy
Location:
Stockholm
Main image:
20140830_FNP001_0.jpg
THE Swedish word bo means to live; sambo to cohabit. As more people struggle to get on the housing ladder, a new word has been coined: mambo, to live with your mum. After Oslo, Stockholm is Europe’s fastest growing capital—its population is expected to expand by 50% by 2030—yet cranes are scarce. The 30,000 new arrivals each year have increased competition for housing, and record-low interest rates have allowed Stockholmers to afford bigger mortgages. As a result, Swedish house prices have more than trebled since 1996 and household debt has reached 174% of after-tax income. There is talk, naturally, of a bubble.
It is not just Sweden: in June the IMF called on ...
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