Bubble trouble brewing in the housing market With property prices around the world now growing by double digits, how big a risk are central banks running? 24 July 2021 • 5:00am Nearly 15 years after a burst housing bubble tipped the world into the worst financial crisis for a century, booming property markets are triggering an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu. From New Zealand to South Korea, prices are soaring. An Auckland fixer-upper, which couldn’t even boast its own toilet, changed hands for more than NZ$2m (£1.1m) this month; meanwhile 6,000 miles away in Seoul, authorities are racing to curb an overheating market. In the US, prices are rising at the fastest pace for more than 30 years, and over here a buyer “frenzy” has driven the busiest first half on record, according to property website Rightmove.