Australia's housing among the four riskiest markets in the world, Oxford Economics

Australia's housing is among the four riskiest markets in the world, according to Oxford Economics.

It has a strong prospect of falling prices posing a threat to economic activity, the research paper noted

The housing market dangers were "especially acute" in Sweden, Australia, Canada and Hong Kong, according to Oxford.

Weighing up a range of risk factors, including housing valuations compared to long-term averages, it noted all four valuations were very elevated.

It noted there has been a lengthy housing boom, debt levels were high and there was a significant share of floating rate debt, Oxford's lead economist Adam Slater wrote in a research note.

The risks were relatively limited in key markets including the US, Germany, France, China and Japan.

Overall edian OECD house price valuations are below the 2006-07 peak but are higher for the risky markets, according to Oxford.

"Looking across a range of housing risk indicators, property market dangers look concentrated in a number of smaller advanced economies and are less severe for the largest economies."

On a valuation index where the long-term average is 100, Australian housing is at 160, while Sweden is at 165, Canada at 173 and Hong Kong at 203.