Housing affordability faces global shock from COVID-19 as rents exceed 8% in Anglosphere countries

Posted on March 28, 2022   |  

• An anglosphere is the global geographic location of English-speaking peoples bound together by common political beliefs, legal traditions, and shared geopolitical interests.
• By late 2021 a typical Australian house was 30 % more expensive than in early 2019, which raised the barrier faced by aspiring first home buyers, in terms of mortgage down payment. 
• During the pandemic to date, house prices rose in eight countries are Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, the UK, and the US, which is in sharp contrast to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, none of these countries saw any significant nominal price decline in 2020 or 2021.
• For lower-income households, pandemic triggered housing cost pressures and boosted through a spike in rent inflation, seen in Australia and in many other countries during 2021. 
• By year-end 2021, with an exception of Canada, national annual rent gains were over 8% in all of the Anglosphere countries, exceeding past decade norms.
• Germany’s rental market remained unaffected by the pandemic, with rent inflation generally continuing to moderate during 2020 and 2021, and in Spain, rents continued to decline in nominal terms.
• For Spain, a key element impacting the nation’s economy and housing market in Covid-19 will have been the serious damage sustained by the dominant tourism industry.