US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Oct.) A rise in mortgage rates led a drop in refinancing activity in October, and a lack of housing inventory pushed applications for home purchase to their lowest level since the start of the year. With... 2nd November 2016 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Data Response CIPS/Markit Construction PMI (Oct.) September’s construction PMI rose marginally; a pleasant surprise given the consensus among forecasters was for a fall. The rise was driven by the commercial sub-index, although the sector’s PMI is... 2nd November 2016 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Nationwide House Prices (Oct.) House prices held flat in October, while the annual rate of growth decelerated to 4.6%. Other data suggest that buyers are now starting to return to the market following the Brexit shock. But with... 2nd November 2016 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response CoreLogic House Prices (Sep.) After seasonal adjustment, house prices on the Core-Logic measure jumped by 1.4% m/m in September. That reading will almost certainly be revised down next month, but even so it is clear that house... 1st November 2016 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lending (Sep.) • Mortgage approvals for house purchase rose for the first time in four months in September, echoing last week’s message from the BBA data that the fall in mortgage lending has bottomed out. 31st October 2016 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Homeownership & Vacancy Rates (Q3) The drop in the homeownership rate in the second quarter was reversed in the third, as a favourable economic backdrop allowed for a gradual rise in first-time buyers. As a result, the number of rental... 27th October 2016 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Explaining recent developments in housing equity withdrawal Our estimate of housing equity withdrawal (HEW) shows that, in aggregate, households have yet to return to using their homes as a piggy bank. While the factors holding HEW back are likely to ease the... 26th October 2016 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Sep.) The small 3.1% m/m rise in new home sales in September comes after a significant downward revision to August’s reading, highlighting that low inventory levels are preventing any sustained rise in... 26th October 2016 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response BBA Mortgage Lending (Sep. 16) Mortgage approvals rose for house purchase rose the first time in four months, suggesting that the recent fall in mortgage lending has bottomed out. That said, with the economic backdrop set to be... 26th October 2016 · 1 min read
US Data Response Conference Board Consumer Confidence (Oct. 16) Despite the decline in the Conference Board index of consumer confidence in October, it is still at a level consistent with annualised consumption growth of more than 2.5%. Furthermore, given that the... 25th October 2016 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller House Prices (Aug.) The 0.6% m/m gain in house prices on the Case-Shiller measure in August was the largest for 10-months. Given very tight market conditions, that acceleration was expected, and further house price gains... 25th October 2016 · 1 min read
India Chart Pack Core price pressures remain elevated Much of the focus both before and after the RBI’s decision to cut the repo rate by 25bp (to 6.25%) in early October has been on the sharp fall in headline inflation over the past couple of months. But... 25th October 2016 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update How much cheaper can high LTV lending get? Our calculations suggest that there is plenty of room for competitive pressures to narrow the spread between high LTV and mainstream mortgages. That said, with banks looking cautious ahead of Brexit... 24th October 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Bank of Canada still betting on soft landing for housing Although the Bank of Canada gave no indication in last week’s policy statement that it was considering an interest rate cut, Governor Stephen Poloz freely admitted in his press conference that an... 21st October 2016 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Is the new-build premium really falling? The gap between the average price of new and existing homes now stands at a six year low. But that fall is mainly a reflection of limitations in the available data. There is little evidence that the... 20th October 2016 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Sep.) Existing home sales rose by a respectable 3.2% m/m in September, helped by a welcome rise in the share of first-time buyers. But with inventory levels still very low, rising housing demand is more... 20th October 2016 · 1 min read
