❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now

Housing cooling faster than expected

Stephen Beard Sep 12, 2006
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Housing cooling faster than expected

Stephen Beard Sep 12, 2006
HTML EMBED:
COPY

TEXT OF STORY

MARK AUSTIN THOMAS: The International Monetary Fund says there’s a risk of a sharp fall in U.S. housing prices. The IMF released a report today that says even the buoyant UK housing market could be in trouble. From London, Stephen Beard has more.


STEPHEN BEARD: The IMF warns that while the global economy is still growing impressively, it does face potential disaster.

The Fund describes what it calls “a cocktail of threats” in the coming year. Among them: higher oil prices, and a big downturn in the US housing market.

Other property hot spots like the UK and Australia could also suffer, but the key concern for the IMF is what’s happening in the U.S. says economist Andrew Hilton.

ANDREW HILTON: Inflation is starting to bite and to pick up in the U.S. and that could well drive interest rates up in the U.S. still further. And if interest rates in the U.S. go up still further it is quite possible that the housing market could collapse.

If the U.S. slows down suddenly, says the IMF, and imports far fewer foreign goods the rest of the world will quickly feel the effects.

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.