UK Data Response Nationwide House Prices (Jun. 13) The Nationwide reported that house prices have continued to drift gently upward, with favourable base effects helping the annual rate of growth to a 2½ year high. But price gains are not accelerating... 28th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Will the Government get the housing market going? The Chancellor’s efforts to engineer a sustainable, demand-led recovery in mortgage lending and housebuilding are unlikely to succeed. One possible outcome is that prices simply surge, pushing housing... 27th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update ONS release new statistics on private sector rental growth The ONS have produced a new experimental index of private housing rental prices, which reports that rents in the private sector in May were around 1.3% higher compared to a year ago. That is a much... 26th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Higher mortgage rates here to stay In light of the changing prospects for US monetary policy, we have revised our 10-year Treasury yield forecasts higher. Accordingly, recent gains in 30-year mortgage rates are unlikely to be unwound... 26th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller Prices & New Home Sales (Apr/May) The Case-Shiller house price index posted one of its largest month-on-month rises so far in the recovery in April, and new home sales registered a solid increase in May. But while sales activity can... 25th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response BBA Mortgage Lending (May. 13) The BBA reported a strong rise in mortgage approvals in May, helped by Government interventions. But this improvement comes from a low base, and in aggregate the major banks are still withdrawing... 25th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update The pace of house price gains is set to slow We expect the pace of house price gains to slow later this year and decelerate further in 2014. This will not signal the end of the US housing recovery, but a new phase in which house price growth is... 24th June 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Household sector sensitive to higher long-term rates The recent improvement in the global economic outlook and changing prospects for US monetary policy in particular have prompted us to revise our global bond yield forecasts moderately higher... 24th June 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (May 13) The number of existing home sales broke decisively above the five million mark in May, while the supply of existing homes for sale continued to creep upwards. 20th June 2013 · 1 min read
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
