US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Jul.) The unexpected gain in existing home sales in July extends the run of rising sales to four months. Recent falls in mortgage interest rates and the steadily improving labour market mean that the... 21st August 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Housebuilding (Q2) The marginal gain in housing starts in the second quarter suggests that material and labour shortages are constraining housebuilders’ output. Despite the impetus from the Help to Buy equity loan... 21st August 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update How much of London’s boom can be explained by prime markets? The surge in London house prices in recent years is often largely attributed to the relative strength of prime property, which itself is usually seen as the latest stage of a long standing trend... 20th August 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Jul.) The sharp rise in housing starts in July is an encouraging sign that the recovery in construction activity is getting back on track. Booming homebuilder confidence points to further gains to come. 19th August 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Plenty to talk about at Jackson Hole Federal Reserve officials will be heading to their annual policy get together at Jackson Hole later this week. We expect little in the way of direct insights into the monetary policy outlook... 18th August 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Prime mortgage credit loosening despite new lending rules Mortgage credit conditions are loosening once again and the demand for mortgages is strengthening. Moreover, this is despite the introduction of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s ability-to... 14th August 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response RICS Residential Market Survey (Jul.) New buyer enquiries contracted marginally in July according to the RICS survey, which should help cool house price inflation. But the stock of property on the market is still very low, and price... 14th August 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Why has remortgaging activity not recovered? Despite most remortgages not being subject to the MMR regulations, remortgaging activity is still very subdued. It is a lack of demand for remortgages that is holding back the market, and that will... 13th August 2014 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Teranet-National Bank House Prices (Jul.) The Teranet-National Bank national composite house price index showed that house price inflation accelerated somewhat to 4.9% in July, from 4.4% in June. The sales-to-listings ratio suggests that... 13th August 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response CML Lending Trends (2014 Q2) The number of mortgages advanced for house purchase in the second quarter rose by 19% compared to a year earlier according to the CML, which suggests that the MMR has not slammed the brakes on lending... 11th August 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack House price growth eases on back of cooling demand The moderation in housing market activity seen in recent months partly reflects the disruption caused by the MMR, and as this passes mortgage lending and demand will continue to increase. But concern... 7th August 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Jul.) The downward trend in mortgage rates seen over the first half of the year has ended, with rates unchanged in July. That helps explain why mortgage applications for refinancing fell during the month. A... 6th August 2014 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Halifax House Prices (Jul.) The volatility in the Halifax measure of house prices continues, with a rise of 1.4% in July more than reversing last month’s drop. The underlying rate of growth has now accelerated, but given other... 6th August 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response CoreLogic House Prices (Jun.) According to CoreLogic, house prices only managed to hold their ground in June, and have not seen a month-on-month rise since March. A loosening in supply conditions has helped to rein in house price... 5th August 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Widespread strengthening in demand for loans The strengthening in mortgage demand evident in the Fed’s latest Senior Loan Officer Survey suggeststhat the housing recovery is back on track after having stalled in the first half of the year... 5th August 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Sales and starts still soft The housing market has yet to shake off the weakness seen in the early stages of the year. Despite increasingly solid economic data and a drop in mortgage interest rates, mortgage applications and new... 4th August 2014 · 1 min read
