Across the Pond: Is wealth reshaping the housing market?

Housing affordability is under pressure across many major cities. Yet the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2026 shows that housing markets are following increasingly different paths as accumulated financial wealth supports demand in prime residential segments. Is wealth overtaking income as a driver of demand? And how is that reshaping housing risk? In this episode of Across the Pond, host Belinda Ulander speaks with the index’s co-authors, Matthias Holzhey and Maciej Skoczek, about Zurich’s position at the top of the ranking, diverging trends across Europe, and the importance of selectivity for investors.