Home prices across the globe are increasingly moving in the same direction at the same time, according to a new International Monetary Fund analysis. Growing integration of financial markets is a key reason.
Researchers took a look at 44 cities and 40 advanced and emerging-market economies, and found that globally low interest rates have helped to push up prices the world over. What’s more, institutional investors have gotten more active in big-city real estate as they seek higher returns, and wealthy individuals are buying up properties as investments. Those two trends are inflating price stickers in places like New York and London simultaneously.
