UK Housing Market Update Mortgage arrears return to pre-crisis rates – but will they stay there? Mortgage arrears have returned to pre-crisis rates despite six years of falling real earnings. Instead the improvement is largely down to record low interest rates. All else equal, that suggests... 19th September 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Aug.) The decline in housing starts in August was worse than we or the consensus had anticipated and stands in stark contrast to surging homebuilder confidence. This weakness should prove temporary, however... 18th September 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Will the demand for new homes continue to cool? After growing at a rapid pace for 16 months, growth in demand for new homes has eased back sharply. But that appears to be driven primarily by a shortage of homes actually up for sale – if builders... 16th September 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Healthy labour market keeping policymakers calm Premier Li Keqiang’s comments last week prioritising reform over stimulus have taken on added significance in the light of the weekend’s weak activity data. Policymakers are aware that efforts to... 15th September 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Teranet-National Bank House Prices (Aug.) The Teranet-National Bank national composite house price index showed that house price inflation rose to 5.0% in August, up slightly from 4.9% in July. Nevertheless, the sales-to-listings ratio... 12th September 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Rising dollar reflects economic strength Even a further rise in the dollar above its current four-year high won’t prevent a period of higher inflation and stronger GDP growth. It would be odd to conclude that the dollar will significantly... 12th September 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update How significant is the new Case-Shiller house price index? The new Case-Shiller house price index improves on its predecessors by giving a monthly read on nationa l house prices. The historical revisions suggest that the housing bust was not as deep as... 11th September 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response RICS Residential Market Survey (Aug.) The housing market appears to be at risk of becoming becalmed as buyers fret about sky high prices and the prospect of higher borrowing costs. 11th September 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Sharp slowdown in house price inflation The new Case-Shiller national house price index, now released on a monthly basis, shows seasonally-adjusted prices falling in each of April, May and June. This is a dramatic reversal from the average... 10th September 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics (Q2) The mortgage market continues on its long road to recovery, with an increase in the total value of loans advanced and evidence that higher loan-to-value lending is finally seeing something of a... 9th September 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Halifax House Prices (Aug.) Halifax reported that house prices were essentially flat in August, with a gain of only 0.1% during the month. Given the volatility of monthly data recently, it is hard to draw any firm conclusions... 8th September 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Property price bubbles a key risk There are signs property prices are coming off the boil in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. That said, prices in these three economies still look significantly overvalued, and a slump in prices... 5th September 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack Housing market activity eases further A lack of homes for sale is discouraging potential buyers, resulting in an easing in housing demand. And those who are looking are baulking at the prices sellers are demanding. Activity will recover... 4th September 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Aug.) Mortgage applications for home purchase fell to their lowest level since 1995 in August. Yet other measures of mortgage market activity, such as the Fed’s Senior Loan Officer Survey, suggest that... 3rd September 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Retail Sales (Jul.) & Final PMIs (Aug.) July’s fall in euro-zone retail sales provides further signs of a weakening inconsumer spending and, with the final estimates of August’s PMIs revised down,there is more evidence that the region’s... 3rd September 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response CoreLogic House Prices (Jul.) Having all-but stalled during the previous three months, the CoreLogic measure of house prices posted a decent gain in July. But this is probably no more than a temporary reprieve, and we expect house... 2nd September 2014 · 1 min read
