Housing is One Reason Not All Countries Feel Pinch of Higher Interest Rates
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Central banks have raised interest rates significantly over the past two years to combat post-pandemic inflation. Many thought this would lead to a slowdown in economic activity. Yet, global growth has held broadly steady, with deceleration only materializing in some countries.
Why are some feeling the pinch from higher rates and not others? The answer partly lies in differences in mortgage and housing market characteristics. The effects of rising monetary policy rates on activity partly depend on housing and mortgage market characteristics, which vary significantly across countries, as we show in a chapter of our latest World Economic Outlook.
Dataset
Country | % of country-level stock of mortgages, 2022 Q4, rounded |
---|---|
Chile | 0% |
South Africa | 1% |
Australia | 14% |
Portugal | 20% |
Israel | 26% |
Japan | 26% |
South Korea | 35% |
Spain | 35% |
Denmark | 40% |
New Zealand | 41% |
Sweden | 47% |
Austria | 48% |
Ireland | 53% |
Italy | 58% |
Canada | 66% |
Colombia | 83% |
United Kingdom | 85% |
Germany | 92% |
Belgium | 92% |
France | 93% |
United States | 95% |
Mexico | 99% |
Data sources
Note: Mortgages are deemed fixed-rate if nominal payments do not reset within a year. Fixed rate mortgages exclude mortgages that adjust to inflation (as in Chile).