A 2025/2026 trend identified by the World Economic Forum
highlights a global "mismatch" in housing. While cities like San
Francisco are seeing a luxury housing revival fueled by AI-generated wealth,
other regions are dealing with "ghost" properties. Japan now has over
9 million vacant homes in rural areas, and Mexico faces millions of abandoned
houses on urban fringes because they were built too far from jobs and essential
services.
