Can’t buy, won’t buy
View from Europe: Chris Giles looks at the causes of the housing downturn and the effects on consumers
European house prices
Resources
Home Retail hit by housing downturn
Home Retail Group said it faces writedowns of hundreds of millions of pounds on assets as it reported a drop in sales at DIY chain Homebase and Argos, the catalogue retailer
Spain launches €3bn housing rescue
Amid rising unemployment and slowing growth, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the prime minister, unveiled a two-pronged plan to support property developers and stem job losses in the construction industry
Fall in Danish house prices accelerates
The fall in Danish house prices is spreading and accelerating, raising fears that the country's recession could be longer and deeper than expected
Fall in house prices accelerates
House prices took another lurch lower in July, with the ninth consecutive monthly fall, leading to the largest year-on-year drop in property values since the early 1990s, the Nationwide Building Society reported
Europeans optimistic on property prices
Europeans have high hopes that the value of their houses will rise over the next five years, even if the next 12 months see prices remaining stagnant or falling
Related content and features
Interactive
FT European house price guide
Find out how house prices have changed across Europe over the past forty years. Our European house price guide identifies former hot-spots that are turning cold and shows how in some countries the pace of activity never really warmed up
The European residential mortgage market
Interactive feature: Find out which European countries have the greatest mortgage debt per capita and as a percent of GDP
Comment and Analysis
Paris maxed: The eurozone braces itself for a French property downturn
House prices look set to fall across France but there is optimism that comparatively low levels of consumer debt will lessen the economic impact
Central banks must care about house prices
The International Monetary Fund’s analysis is correct. The residential property market drives the business cycle, writes Wolfgang Münchau
Europe needs a sharp rise in interest rates
Whatever policies the European Central Bank follows over the coming year, they are bound to be found wanting, writes Ciaran O’Hagan
Spain’s house of cards has started tumbling down
The heavily indebted business model behind the spectacular rise in Spanish property companies will cease to function in the current environment
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