Concerns in housing markets

Rising interest rates have been a source of concern for global growth as housing markets around the world struggle. Data released this week in the US showed that the housing sector has contracted for a fifth month, while home sales fell in China and house prices fell in Australia and New Zealand. The decline in home values risks negatively impacting consumer confidence and undermining investment. The rise in mortgage rates in the US last year has cooled the housing market, leading to the biggest annual decline in sales of previously owned homes in more than a decade. A drop in prices is expected New home sales in China fell 32.5 percent in January from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from China Real Estate Information Corp. on Tuesday. Authorities have taken steps in recent months to ease financing for construction companies that have been struggling with cash, trying to support the sector. In New Zealand, economists predict house prices will fall further and be at least 20 percent below their late 2021 peak by early 2024.