Filtered by Subscriptions: UK Housing Use setting UK Housing
Private housing starts are increasing as builders begin to respond to the boost in demand from record low mortgage rates and the Help to Buy equity loan scheme. But with the supply response so far lagging demand, prices are also on the up. … …
15th August 2013
The latest RICS housing survey reported a jump in demand for homes and house prices, as record low mortgage rates tempt more people into buying a home. But with housing overvalued, a rise in prices should not be viewed as good news. … RICS Residential …
13th August 2013
Record low mortgage rates and the Help to Buy equity loan scheme have given a boost to housing demand, which has helped house prices to make some gains. But with more homes now coming onto the market, and real earnings still falling, a full blown house …
9th August 2013
Low interest rates and lender forbearance are keeping mortgage possessions at levels which pose little threat to the outlook for house prices. But a meaningful drop in mortgage arrears is unlikely until the squeeze on incomes goes into reverse. … …
8th August 2013
Lending to buy-to-let investors gathered pace in the second quarter. But the data do not suggest that landlords are playing a disproportionately large role in the nascent housing market recovery. … CML Buy-to-Let Lending …
Halifax reported that house prices rose by a sturdy 0.9%m/m in July, which helped the annual rate to a three-year high. But with house prices already overvalued, the gains are worryingly reliant on Government interventions. … Halifax House Prices …
6th August 2013
Signs of life in the housing market could aid the recovery in consumer spending. But continued falls in real pay are likely to keep any near-term consumer revival subdued. … Fragile recovery finally …
5th August 2013
House prices are continuing to gain ground. A strong 0.8%m/m increase combined with favourable base effects to boost the annual growth rate to 3.9%. But with house prices already overvalued, we do not see this as good news. … Nationwide House Prices …
2nd August 2013
House prices in London as a whole have outperformed the rest of the country since the financial crisis, but this is not the case for all parts of the capital. Those boroughs with the highest prices prior to 2008 crash have seen a far stronger recovery, …
31st July 2013
After three months of gains, the number of mortgages approved for house purchase showed a surprising drop in June. While this is almost certainly a blip, rather than an indication that banks are pulling back from the housing market, it is a reminder that …
29th July 2013
The recent rise in demand for new-build homes, partly driven by Help to Buy, has helped private home starts reach their highest level since the start of the financial crisis. While this is good news, the boost to supply has yet to match the rise in …
26th July 2013
The Land Registry reported that house prices increased by 0.6%m/m in June. But there is scant evidence that house prices are about to take-off - the annual rate stayed in the narrow band of 0.2% to 0.9% where it has been for the past year. … Land …
Mortgage lending by the major high street banks increased for the fourth consecutive month in June, funded by a further rise in mortgage repayments. But compared to May and April, the growth in lending has slowed. … BBA Mortgage Lending (Jun …
23rd July 2013
In the short term, whether gross or net mortgage lending matters more for house prices depends on the type of mortgage repayments being made. In that regard, with the recent rise in repayments being driven by redemptions as people move home, rather than …
18th July 2013
Record low mortgage rates, the equity loan component of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme and a general improvement in the economic environment have helped activity in the housing market to recover. We now expect house prices to increase by 2% both this …
17th July 2013
Housing market activity continues to pick-up, and the balance of surveyors expecting a further increase in sales is at a record high. But house prices are only expected to rise modestly over the next year. … RICS Residential Market Survey …
9th July 2013
In our latest UK Quarterly Review , we discuss reasons to be optimistic about the UK’s medium term outlook. Contrary to the popular belief that we are the eternal “Eeyores” of the economics world, we believe that the UK economy could yet stage a strong …
8th July 2013
Housing market activity is on the up as record low mortgage rates and Government interventions support demand. But supply has so far been slow to respond, with some home movers delaying putting their property on the market. So far this has supported price …
4th July 2013
Halifax reports that house prices have risen for the fifth consecutive month, and on an annual basis prices are now growing at 3.7%, the highest rate in almost three years. But with more homes now being put up for sale, the upwards pressure on prices is …
The Bank of England’s latest Credit Conditions survey shows that the supply of finance continues to improve in both the residential and commercial property sectors. However, there has been no easing in residential credit scoring criteria, while commercial …
3rd July 2013
The introduction in March 2012 of a new 7% stamp duty rate for homes sold for more than £2m has contributed to reduction in high-value transactions of around 12% in 2012, compared to an increase in sales for all other price bands. But there is also …
2nd July 2013
The Bank of England reported that gross mortgage lending in May reached the highest level since the start of the financial crisis, and mortgage approvals for house purchase also saw a robust rise. But mortgage repayments saw a concurrent increase, and net …
1st July 2013
The Land Registry reported that prices were essentially flat over May, which helped bring the annual rate of inflation down a touch to 0.5%. Prices in London are still far outperforming the rest of the country, but the North West managed to record the …
28th June 2013
The Nationwide reported that house prices have continued to drift gently upward, with favourable base effects helping the annual rate of growth to a 2½ year high. But price gains are not accelerating – household sector finances are simply not strong …
The Chancellor’s efforts to engineer a sustainable, demand-led recovery in mortgage lending and housebuilding are unlikely to succeed. One possible outcome is that prices simply surge, pushing housing further beyond the reach of young and low income …
27th June 2013
The ONS have produced a new experimental index of private housing rental prices, which reports that rents in the private sector in May were around 1.3% higher compared to a year ago. That is a much lower growth rate than some alternative measures, which …
26th June 2013
The BBA reported a strong rise in mortgage approvals in May, helped by Government interventions. But this improvement comes from a low base, and in aggregate the major banks are still withdrawing credit from the housing market. … BBA Mortgage Lending …
25th June 2013
In recent times, the sharp drop in interest-only lending has been a far less important factor holding back housing demand than lenders’ deposit requirements. But with prices still very high relative to earnings, the lack of interest-only mortgages will …
20th June 2013
A rise in households’ optimism regarding the housing market has pushed asking prices to a record high. At the same time, financial institutions appear to have become more concerned about the risk of house price falls. That does not bode well for …
18th June 2013
Today’s data on mortgage lending and quoted interest rates underline the fact that the Funding for Lending Scheme is struggling to give a boost to lending. In turn, that highlights the risk that, in due course, the upturn in sales reported by the RICS …
11th June 2013
Today's RICS residential property market survey suggests that a degree of liquidity is returning to the owner occupier market. In turn, this has taken a little of the steam out of the rental market. … RICS Residential Market Survey …
A recovery in housebuilding is long overdue and although we suspect that it may not be as strong as it appears at first sight, encouragingly, there are now signs that it may finally be underway. … Has housebuilding finally turned a …
10th June 2013
Sentiment surrounding the housing market appears to be improving, thanks to record low mortgage rates and Government interventions to support the market. But the fundamentals are weak, and with banks still reluctant to lend a period of strong price rises …
6th June 2013
Mortgage approvals have increased marginally in recent months, helped by Government interventions. But that increase has been achieved with virtually no rise in net mortgage lending. Thus in aggregate lenders are limiting new mortgage lending to what can …
4th June 2013
Mortgage approvals were virtually unchanged in April according to the Bank of England, providing further evidence that the Funding for Lending Scheme may just prevent further falls in mortgage lending, rather than provide a significant boost. … Mortgage …
31st May 2013
Land Registry data for April point to house prices in the UK showing marginal gains, but that national average hides a very wide regional divergence. While prices in London are growing at an annual rate of over 6%, they are falling at a similar rate in …
30th May 2013
The rise in house prices recorded by the Nationwide in May could further boost the growing sense of optimism regarding the housing market. But the fundamentals are still weak, and we think much of that optimism is misplaced. … Nationwide House Prices …
With the base rate at 0.5% and wholesale funding rates at around 2%, it seems clear that mortgage interest rates can continue to fall. But the desire to raise capital, and concerns over what will happen when interest rates return to more ‘normal’ levels, …
24th May 2013
Mortgage approvals edged up in April, aided by record low mortgage rates and other Government support for the housing market. But a fourth consecutive fall in net lending suggests that mortgage market conditions are still very weak. … BBA Mortgage …
The discrepancy between estimates of the average house price is essentially due to some measures being close to the mean, while others are closer to the median price. Housing valuations are best assessed using an estimate closer to the median, such as …
22nd May 2013
While housing completions dipped during the first quarter of 2013, this is a lagging indicator and more significantly private housing starts increased. Various Government interventions should mean this improvement continues, but a return to the levels of …
16th May 2013
The April residential market survey showed that surveyors are now more optimistic about the outlook for house sales and prices. While we share some of the optimism with regards to transactions, we are less enthused about the prospects for prices. … RICS …
14th May 2013
The Funding for Lending Scheme proved unable to prevent a dip in buy-to-let (BTL) lending in the first quarter of 2013. While BTL lending should recover in the coming months, helped by underlying tenant demand, it is not about to boom. … CML Buy-to-Let …
9th May 2013
It is too soon to declare Q1’s marginal rise in arrears and possessions to be the start of a deteriorating trend. But it seems clear that the steady improvement in the data, seen since the end of the 2008/09 recession, has now come to an end. … Mortgage …
The Halifax reports that house prices continued to rise in April, and at a fairly strong pace. But other housing market data are not so positive, and taken together that suggests prices are just holding steady. … Halifax House Prices (Apr. …
8th May 2013
The squeeze on consumers’ real pay will intensify even further over the next few months. Thereafter it should abate, although sub-par rates of spending growth are likely to continue for some time. … The squeeze …
7th May 2013
Various Government interventions, particularly the FLS, have given the housing market a gentle upwards nudge. But early hopes that 2013 would be a year of strong recovery will not be realised, and house prices will do no better than hold their ground for …
The very slight drop in house prices recorded in April points to a housing market holding its ground. While prices in London are likely to see some further gains in coming months, prices for the UK as a whole will struggle to see any increase. … …
1st May 2013
After two consecutive months of declines, mortgage approvals for house purchase staged a partial come back in March. A raft of Government interventions is likely to lead to further marginal increases in mortgage lending over the coming months. … …
30th April 2013
Land Registry data for March showed that house prices are essentially flat, rising by just 0.1% during the month. It is hard to see what will generate price rises, but in the absence of a major shock they are likely to hold their ground. … Land Registry …
29th April 2013
