Where every homeowner is a zillionaire.
The week's news at a glance.
United Kingdom
Boris Johnson
Daily Telegraph
I’ve just quadrupled my net worth—on paper, anyway, said Boris Johnson in the London Daily Telegraph. “I know it is rude to discuss property prices,” but get this: We bought a house in 1995. Four years later we sold it for twice what we paid to buy a new house. Now that house has also doubled in value—for no readily apparent reason. “It is not as if the people of the neighborhood have all struck oil in the basement.” The British housing market has simply gone “quite mad.” Fully 70 percent of adults own their own homes, which means the entire nation has become obsessed with real estate. “Hopelessly addicted to property porn,” we grab at each new circular, scanning for a bigger, better mansion. It would be funny if it weren’t having such dire economic consequences. The housing bubble has skewed the whole economy. Half of our national wealth is tied up in mortgages, and only a quarter in pension funds. When prices fall, our “touching belief” in “bricks and mortar” won’t put food on the table.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published