UK Housing Market Update Demise of interest-only mortgages will also hold back housing demand 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... 20th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Financial institutions wary about renewed housing market optimism 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... 18th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (May 13) The rise in housing starts in May was driven by a surge in multi-family starts and went some way to reversing April’s big drop. Despite some headwinds, starts are on track to increase further over the... 18th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Construction Output (Apr.) April’s construction figures are better than they look, given that the data are not seasonally adjusted. On the face of it, they tentatively suggest that construction could help the economic recovery... 14th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update How concerned should we be about higher mortgage rates? The rise in mortgage interest rates has the potential to generate a hiatus in housing sales and starts over the summer. At the margins, the rise also adds to the case for expecting the housing... 13th June 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand will remain reluctant to hike rates The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept its policy rate at 2.5% today. We continue to expect the cash rate to remain on hold until the end of the year and to be kept low in 2014. 13th June 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Teranet-National Bank House Prices (May) In spite of the sharp 1.1% m/m increase, the annual growth rate of Teranet house prices held steady at 2.0% in May. For now, both the past decline in existing home sales and the steady rise in the... 12th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Inventory levels inch higher The latest readings from the CoreLogic and Case-Shiller house price indices show that prices have posted double-digit gains over the past year. But not all the past month’s housing news was so buoyant... 12th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics (Q1) 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... 11th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response RICS Residential Market Survey (May) 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. 11th June 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Canada's housing downturn far from over Recent housing evidence does not convince us that Canada's housing downturn has stabilised. As housing demand remains sluggish in certain markets and softens further in others, we expect the still... 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Has housebuilding finally turned a corner? 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. 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Rebound remains elusive The key message from China’s May data is that there is no clear evidence of an economic rebound getting underway. Most of the commentary has focused on the impact on exports of more stringent controls... 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Outlook Housing market recovery marching on The stronger-than-expected start to the year means that the risks to our house price forecasts have shifted to the upside. However, we think it is more likely than not that the pace of house price... 7th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack Optimism returns to the housing market 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... 6th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (May) For all the talk of a renewed US housing bubble, today’s mortgage applications data are a reminder that the recovery remains highly dependent on loose monetary policy. 5th June 2013 · 1 min read
