Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Thinking about buying your first home but overwhelmed by mortgage news, rising rates, and confusing headlines? The Mortgage Research Network Podcast is your no-fluff, data-backed guide to the housing market. We break down the latest trends, stories, and research from MortgageResearch.com into simple, clear insights you can actually use. Hosted with first-time buyers in mind, each episode helps you understand what’s happening in the market and how to use that knowledge to make smarter decisions, from locking in a great rate to choosing the right time to buy. Empowering you with the facts, confidence, and tools to become a homeowner one episode at a time.
Welcome to the Mortgage Research Network Podcast. We bring you the latest mortgage and real estate news 3 times a week. The audio is AI generated, but content is fact-checked by me, Tim Lucas, editor of MortgageResearch.com and a former mortgage professional. And with me is Craig Berry, a mortgage originator with 25 years experience. Craig, U.S. housing prices feel out of control, but it's at least some consolation that we're not the only ones. For example, in the UK, if egg prices had risen at the same rate as UK housing costs, they would be paying $120 for a dozen eggs right now. That's not just shocking - it's a sign of how broken our housing markets have become globally.
Those numbers are absolutely mind-blowing. And what's fascinating is that this isn't just happening in one or two countries. it's a pattern we're seeing across almost every developed nation.
Right. Much of Europe is experiencing this. The exception seems to be Japan. They've got this completely opposite problem where they have over 9 million empty homes, some selling for less than $10,000. It's like a parallel universe of housing economics.
That's such an interesting contrast. What's driving that massive difference?
It all comes down to demographics. Japan's population is literally shrinking by almost half a percent this year alone. Their death rate far exceeds their birth rate, and that's creating a ripple effect through their housing market.
You know, that actually connects to something bigger happening across all developed nations. The fertility rates are dropping everywhere. In the U.S. it's down to just 1.6 children per woman.
Exactly right. And here's why that number matters so much. You need 2.1 children per woman just to maintain a stable population. When you're at 1.6 and dropping, you're looking at some serious economic challenges down the road.
That really explains why immigration has become such a crucial factor in all of this.
Right, and this is where it gets really interesting. Take the UK for example. Under Margaret Thatcher, they tried this massive experiment called "Right to Buy" where social housing tenants could purchase their homes at less than half the value. Sounds great in theory, right?
Let me guess. it didn't quite work out as planned?
Well, it initially pushed the homeownership rate up to 71%, but it's now dropped back to 65% after many buyers sold their units to investors. Plus, they couldn't replace the social housing stock, and now they've got over 1.2 million people on waiting lists for affordable housing.
That's fascinating how these well-intentioned policies can sometimes backfire. The European Union seems to be struggling with similar issues.
Oh absolutely. According to their recent polling, more than half of EU city residents consider the lack of affordable housing an urgent problem. But here's where it gets complicated. These same residents often actively fight against any solutions in their own neighborhoods.
Sounds like the classic nimby problem we see everywhere.
Exactly. The Nuffield Policy Research Center identified four major obstacles that keep showing up across all these countries: anti-immigrant sentiment, restrictive means testing, high construction costs, and local resistance to density. It's like a perfect storm of housing market dysfunction.
So what's the solution? Because it seems like we're all facing the same basic problems.
Well, based on all the research, it really comes down to fundamentally rethinking our approach to urban development. We need to get comfortable with different types of housing like apartment buildings, manufactured homes, and tiny homes. and we need to be willing to increase density in existing neighborhoods.
That's going to require some pretty significant changes in local policies and attitudes.
And that's exactly what makes this so challenging. We need to balance local control with broader housing needs, but right now, existing homeowners in these areas often get their way.
Looking at all this data, it's pretty remarkable how universal these challenges are.
You know what's really going to be interesting? Watching how different countries try to solve these problems over the next few decades. Because something has to give - we can't keep going the way we're going.
Even Japan is starting to shift their approach, aren't they?
Yes, they're very quietly starting to open up to more immigration to address their labor shortages. It's a fascinating example of how these issues are all interconnected. demographics, immigration, economic growth, and housing markets all influence each other in complex ways.
So in the end, it really comes down to finding a balance between all these competing forces.
Exactly. And whether we're talking about the U.S., UK, EU, or Japan, the solution is going to require some pretty fundamental changes in how we think about housing, community development, and what our cities should look like in the future.
That's about all the time we have for this topic, but we go into even more detail on the site. For more, search housing crisis at Mortgage research.com. We'll see you next time on the Mortgage Research Network Podcast.