Filtered by Subscriptions: UK Housing Use setting UK Housing
While the Credit Suisse rescue might draw a line under that particular institution’s problems, it is clear that confidence in the financial sector overall is still extremely fragile. So regardless of whether more financial institutions run into trouble, …
20th March 2023
We have already outlined some different scenarios of how things might evolve from here and it is still possible that the situation calms down quickly. But in this Update , we think through how the more adverse of our scenarios might evolve. There are …
16th March 2023
Latest figures confirm plummeting demand during Q4 The detailed mortgage lending data for Q4 showed a slump in demand, as rising mortgage rates began to bite. The latest MLAR data confirmed the sharp turnaround in market conditions and suggest that, with …
14th March 2023
Patches of positivity unlikely to last The slight recovery in the new buyer enquiries balance in February suggested that the reversal of the autumn spike in mortgage rates allowed a limited revival in demand. But with sales volumes falling and price …
9th March 2023
The substantial recovery in Halifax house prices in February added weight to the view that we will see a stand off between buyers and sellers that causes transactions to slump, but minimal price falls. That would be a historical anomaly, which is why our …
7th March 2023
Construction activity rebounds The headline CIPS construction index rebounded back into expansionary territory in February and the forward-looking indicators also showed further improvement. Commercial developers may be taking advantage of lower input …
6th March 2023
Q4 spike in mortgage rates continues to depress approvals The spike in mortgage rates in October and November last year ensured that mortgage approvals remained at a similar level to the depths of the 2007-09 financial crisis in January. That could mark …
1st March 2023
House prices continue to slide The further fall in house prices in February will keep optimism based on reports that demand has recovered in check. Indeed, even if buyer volumes have recovered, the amount they can spend on a new home has been reduced by …
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are the main benchmark for environmental standards in UK housing. There is evidence that they are improving efficiency in new-builds and new regulations will enforce change on rental properties, but this progress …
27th February 2023
Higher interest rates have begun to reduce the size of mortgage that buyers take out. As two-thirds of buyers rely on a mortgage, that will decrease most buyers’ budgets and put further downward pressure on house prices. The average mortgage rate on …
23rd February 2023
The survey data suggest that the modest decline in mortgage rates since October falls a long way short of what would be required for house prices to bottom out. The fall in market interest rates since the “mini” budget has allowed the average quoted …
16th February 2023
Survey delivers reality check to new year optimism There was some hope that, in keeping with the pause in house price falls recorded by Halifax in January, the RICS survey would show a recovery in demand on the back of the modest decline in mortgage …
9th February 2023
House price falls pause (for now) We suspect that the pause in house price falls in January reported by Halifax will prove temporary. Despite the slight decline in mortgage rates, affordability still looks far too stretched for house prices to have …
7th February 2023
Most, but not all measures of house prices show that they are falling. That has led some to contend that cash buyers may be supporting prices. But we think it is just a matter of time before the ONS House Price Index (HPI) catches up with the Nationwide …
6th February 2023
Commercial and housing activity falls further, but expectations brighten The headline CIPS construction index showed a contraction in activity in January, with the housing index seeing a substantial decline. But the forward-looking indicators improved, …
High mortgage rates maintain downward pressure on prices Given very stretched mortgage affordability, it was unsurprising to see house prices continue to decline at the beginning of 2023. The fall in house prices since their peak last August grew to 3.2% …
1st February 2023
Approvals fall to their lowest since 2009 A further slump in mortgage approvals in December, to the lowest level since the height of the pandemic, confirmed that the extremely high cost of mortgage borrowing has caused more buyers to withdraw from the …
31st January 2023
The shift away from floating-rate to fixed-rate mortgages presents risks as well as benefits. It will protect homeowners who are lucky enough to have a long time remaining on their fixed rate contract from higher mortgage payments. But that reduces the …
30th January 2023
Overview – 2023 will be the most difficult year for the housing market since 2008. Mortgage rates remain very high by the standards of recent years and can’t drop materially until the Bank of England shifts from raising interest rates to cutting them. …
26th January 2023
Demand for mortgages collapses due to spike in mortgage rates The Q4 2022 Credit Conditions Survey shows that while lenders tightened lending criteria in the aftermath of the “mini” budget, the main constraint on lending volumes was a collapse in demand …
19th January 2023
Prices and activity continue to plummet There was little to cheer in the December RICS survey, with prices continuing to drop and sales volumes falling further from November’s already-subdued levels. The past prices balance of the RICS Residential Survey …
A large part of the real estate sector’s carbon footprint is related to electricity production and so will shrink over time as the use of renewables continues to expand. The biggest challenges to reducing property sector emissions will be in emerging …
9th January 2023
Mortgage rates have probably now peaked, but they remain at a level that makes further steep falls in house prices and a slump in housing market activity inevitable this year. If anything, the hard data show that the housing market slump has already begun …
Headline index falls below 50 as recession hits property demand The headline CIPS construction index fell below 50 in December, indicating a contraction in activity, as the recession hit demand and developers’ concerns about capital values increased. With …
6th January 2023
House price falls already well advanced The further large fall in house prices recorded by Halifax in December suggests that the house price correction is further advanced than we previously thought. Indeed, while the Nationwide figures point to a …
Approvals collapse as adjustment to higher rates begins in earnest The impact of the surge in mortgage rates following the “mini” budget on 23 rd September was realised in November as mortgage approvals collapsed. The modest drop back in fixed mortgage …
4th January 2023
London house prices are likely to continue to underperform even if the shift in buyer demand away from the capital due to remote working ends. More stretched house prices in the capital prior to the jump in mortgage rates means the impact of higher …
3rd January 2023
Falls in house prices will continue throughout 2023 The slowdown in house price falls in December is little comfort when leading indicators point to further sharp declines. Despite mortgage rates edging lower in recent weeks, we continue to think that …
30th December 2022
The return of inflation for the first time in the inflation-targeting era has led to the biggest jump in Bank Rate and mortgage rates since the late 1980s. (See Chart 1.) The steady downward trend in mortgage rates from 6.5% in 2008 to 1.5% at the end …
19th December 2022
This is part of a series of reports outlining our key macro and market calls for 2023. Click here to view the full series. Property markets rebounded strongly after 2020, in part boosted by favourable structural shifts brought on by the pandemic. But …
15th December 2022
Q3 likely to mark a peak for lending volumes The detailed mortgage lending data for Q3 show that demand was resilient to rising mortgage rates at first. Loan-to-income ratios crept up despite rising financing costs. But with interest rates on new …
13th December 2022
Survey shows prices and activity continuing to fall in November The RICS survey confirmed that there were widespread house price falls in November. Surveyors expect a further drop in prices and slowdown in transactions ahead, in line with our forecasts. …
8th December 2022
Overview – 2023 will be a tough year for the economy as the effects of the previous rises in inflation and previous hikes in interest rates (as well as a future rise from 3.00% now to a peak of 4.50% in early 2023) are felt. Our view that inflation and …
7th December 2022
Sharp drop confirms that house price correction has begun The largest monthly fall in the Halifax house price index since October 2008 confirms that the house price correction that we forecast has begun. While mortgage rates have fallen back somewhat in …
Headline index starts to fall as recession cuts demand As expected, the headline CIPS construction index retreated in November as falling demand outweighed the benefit of easing prices and an increase in the availability of contractors. As the recession …
6th December 2022
Following the Nationwide data showing a larger-than-expected fall in house prices in November, we hosted an online Drop-In on 1 st December to discuss how far prices could fall and what the downturn could mean for transactions and construction. This …
2nd December 2022
Sharp drop in prices as market adjusts to higher mortgage rates The 1.4% m/m drop in house prices in November was far larger than anyone expected, raising the risk that prices fall more rapidly and further in response to high mortgage rates than we …
1st December 2022
As we now think Bank Rate will peak at 4.50% next year as opposed to 5.00%, mortgage rates will be a bit lower in 2023. But ultimately, the surge in mortgage rates over the past year will leave the cost of buying a home with a mortgage exceptionally high, …
30th November 2022
Slump in approvals points to sharper downturn in activity ahead Rocketing mortgage rates led to a sharp drop in mortgage approvals in October. While quoted mortgage rates have peaked they are unlikely to fall much below 5% next year, keeping the cost of …
29th November 2022
Chief Property Economist Andrew Burrell and Andrew Wishart , who leads our UK housing coverage, held a briefing on the shape of the coming downturn in the UK housing market. During this 20-minute session, the team answered client questions including: …
28th November 2022
The record-low yields on rental properties and fall in house prices we forecast imply poor returns for Buy-to-Let (BTL) landlords over the next few years. Moreover, the jump in mortgage rates means a significant minority of them will see mortgage …
23rd November 2022
The recent surge in rental growth to a record high has been widely reported, but the usual explanations are unsatisfactory. Population indicators don’t suggest a sudden rise in demand, and there is little evidence of landlords selling up. Instead, we …
16th November 2022
Demand collapses The October RICS Residential survey showed that the spike in quoted mortgage rates to over 6%, a level last seen in 2008, has triggered a collapse in buyer demand comparable to that seen in the financial crisis. That’s consistent with our …
10th November 2022
Halifax confirms house price declines are now entrenched The 0.4% m/m fall in house prices reported by Halifax backs up the data from Nationwide that house price falls are becoming entrenched. Surging mortgage interest rates have flattened demand, as many …
7th November 2022
Improvement in headline index will not last long As was the case last month, an improvement in delivery times and subcontractor availability drove a surprise rise on the headline construction PMI in October. But a slowing economy and higher financing …
4th November 2022
House prices now falling as higher mortgage rates bite The jump in mortgage interest rates is now being felt in house prices, with Nationwide reporting the first month-on-month fall since July 2021. House prices are now set to stay on a sustained downward …
1st November 2022
Approvals begin to fall as rising rates take effect Mortgage approvals fell in September as buyers began to adjust to rising interest rates. With further rate rises likely in the coming months, we expect this downward trend to continue and for lending to …
31st October 2022
Overview – The jump in market interest rates following the ill-advised “mini” budget has forced quoted mortgage rates up to over 5%, a level not seen since 2009. That will turn the slowdown in demand already evident in the survey data into a collapse, as …
While interest rates are unlikely to rise as high as investors expected in the immediate aftermath of the “mini budget”, those hoping that the surge in mortgage rates since will be reversed are likely to be disappointed. Admittedly, the peak in Bank …
21st October 2022
Overview – The drag on the economy from CPI inflation being stuck at 10% for a year and interest rates rising to 5.00% will be enough to trigger a recession that involves real GDP declining by around 2.0% from its peak to its trough. What’s more, …
20th October 2022
