Sales of existing homes in the United States fell 2.4 per cent in June to an annualised rate of 4.09 million, missing economist forecasts, as mortgage rates stuck near 6.6 per cent continued to freeze out buyers. The median sale price nevertheless climbed 1.8 per cent from a year earlier to a record $440,660, marking the 36th consecutive month of year-on-year gains, according to the National Association of Realtors. The inventory of homes for sale edged up just 1.3 per cent annually, far short of the 30–40 per cent increase that the association's chief economist said was needed to restore balance.

India's housing market, by contrast, is entering what analysts in Mumbai describe as a consolidation phase rather than a downturn. Sales across the eight largest cities reached 171,471 units in the first half of 2026, one of the strongest half-year performances of the past decade, but new project launches outstripped absorption at 187,350 units, pushing unsold stock higher. Demand is increasingly skewed towards premium properties: homes priced above 10 million rupees accounted for 54 per cent of transactions, up from 49 per cent a year earlier, while the affordable segment remains under pressure. Lower home-loan rates following cumulative monetary easing are expected to provide support, though developers may turn to flexible payment schemes to sustain momentum.

Across Latin America, housing markets are contending with their own supply-side strains. In Mexico City, the country's largest market, just 18,817 new units were available in the first quarter, a volume that forecasts suggest will be exhausted within 20 months. Prices per square metre averaged 78,400 pesos, an 8 per cent annual rise, while the rental market has surged: three in ten homes are now leased, and rents in central corridors such as Reforma have jumped more than 20 per cent year on year. In Argentina, the cost of construction is climbing in both peso and dollar terms. The official index for Buenos Aires put the building cost at about US$1,070 per square metre in May, but developers say the true all-in cost, including land and professional fees, is closer to US$1,500, making a modest 60-square-metre house cost upwards of US$90,000. That compares with an average resale price of US$1,828 per square metre in the capital, squeezing margins for new builds.

The common thread across these markets is an affordability squeeze that is reshaping buyer behaviour and developer strategies. In the US, a bipartisan housing bill that would ease zoning rules and restrict institutional investors has passed Congress but remains unsigned by President Trump, who has tied its enactment to unrelated election legislation. Its fate is the next concrete milestone: if signed, it could unlock supply-side relief; if vetoed or stalled, the market is likely to remain trapped between high prices and subdued sales volumes.