Mike Bird, editor of Wall Street at 'The Economist': "Spain is the example of the most extreme bubble and collapse of real estate in the Western world"

Mike Bird, in his book "El precio del suelo," discusses the challenges young people face in buying homes in major cities due to high land prices. He explains that land constitutes about 35% of global wealth and is crucial for the financial system. The demand for land has surged as cities become hubs for technology and skilled jobs, leading to inflated housing costs. Banks use land as collateral, creating cycles of debt and financial bubbles, as seen in Spain. Countries like Japan struggle to recover from land value collapses, while China's deliberate deflation of its real estate bubble has weakened its domestic economy. In contrast, Singapore's government ownership of land has kept housing affordable. Bird emphasizes that zoning laws and government restrictions hinder housing supply, exacerbating the issue for young people.