A recent Reuters poll reveals that easy money boosting the housing market worldwide may be going away soon. Since the financial crisis about a decade ago, most central banks around the world have kept interest rates low to spur spending and economic growth, also supporting low mortgage rates for house buyers.

However, this practice has caused asset prices to soar to record highs over the past few years, with house prices growing at a faster pace than CPI and wage growth in several markets. As a result, house prices have turned unaffordable, especially for first-time home buyers.

Economists polled anticipate that the trend in house prices could soon start to be driven more by incomes than by lower borrowing costs. External risks such as the trade war and an overall weakening in global economic growth are also likely to keep the housing market in several economies under pressure.

House prices, especially in the UK and the US, could grow at a slower than expected pace over the next two years while house prices in Dubai are expected to continue their steep decline till 2021. In the emerging markets of China and India, house prices are expected to increase by 3% in 2020, close to key inflation levels in each market.