UK Data Response Mortgage Lending (Mar. 13) After two consecutive months of declines, mortgage approvals for house purchase staged a partial come back in March. A raft of Government interventions is likely to lead to further marginal increases... 30th April 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Land Registry Repeat Sales Index (Mar. 13) Land Registry data for March showed that house prices are essentially flat, rising by just 0.1% during the month. It is hard to see what will generate price rises, but in the absence of a major shock... 29th April 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Buy-to-let lending will not be main beneficiary from FLS extension The extension of the Funding for Lending Scheme to include mortgage and housing credit corporations has led to some concerns that the buy-to-let sector will be the main beneficiary. But the link to... 25th April 2013 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Deleveraging in Denmark: what lessons for other Nordics? Household spending in Denmark has barely recovered since its housing bubble burst in 2007 and there appears little respite ahead for households. With rising debt now fuelling housing booms in Sweden... 25th April 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response BBA Mortgage Lending (Mar. 13) According to the BBA, the number of mortgages approved for house purchase ticked up in March. Alongside other Government support, the extension to the Funding for Lending Scheme will help approvals... 24th April 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Mar. 13) After the weaker than expected existing home sales figures, the increase in new home sales in March comes as a bit of a relief. The rise was only slight, but the indications are that activity will... 23rd April 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Is demand from buy-to-let investors about to boom? According to a recent survey, letting agents think that more landlords are currently buying property than at any time since the height of the buy-to-let (BTL) lending boom in late 2006. But landlords... 23rd April 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Mar. 13) The small slide in existing home sales in March may add to concerns from some quarters that the housing recovery is hitting a soft patch. But look closely and there are a fair number of positives in... 22nd April 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Homebuilding recovery will continue despite thorns in its side The homebuilding recovery is running into a number of constraints, prompting three consecutive monthly falls in the NAHB homebuilder confidence index. In a worst-case scenario, confidence could weaken... 19th April 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Who is benefitting from the Funding for Lending Scheme? The Funding for Lending Scheme was designed with the purpose of boosting new lending to firms and households. Although the impact on lending has been rather modest, at least in terms of the housing... 18th April 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Teranet-National Bank House Prices (Mar.) Despite house prices rebounding by 0.4% m/m in March, the annual rate of house price growth dropped to a three-year low of 2.6%, down from 2.7% in February. We expect that, as existing home sales... 17th April 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Mar.) The big rise in starts in March should help to calm the nerves of those worrying that the homebuilding recovery is running out of steam. Starts will fall back next month and there are challenges... 16th April 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Outlook Government interventions make house price falls less likely The Government took further action to breathe life into the housing market in Budget 2013 by announcing a new Help-to-Buy scheme. Alongside the ongoing Funding for Lending Scheme, and with house... 16th April 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Housing demand likely to soften further The year-on-year drop in existing home sales supports our view that a potentially hard housing market correction is underway. Assuming that home sales continue to trend lower this year, then this will... 15th April 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Contradictory evidence on impact of 7% stamp duty rate Evidence on the impact of the new 7% stamp duty rate on activity in the £2m+ homes market is contradictory. Data from the Land Registry shows that transactions have held up. But agents report a... 12th April 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Talk of a US housing bubble is premature We place significant emphasis on valuations in our analysis of residential property markets. So we cannot take issue with those who have recently pointed out that house price gains which are twice the... 12th April 2013 · 1 min read
