US Housing Market Update Return of housing equity withdrawal here to stay For the first time in four years households are withdrawing more cash from their homes than they are putting into them. Rather than being a temporary blip, we think that this marks the start of a... 18th March 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Will prime central London house prices continue to outperform? Interest in prime central London property may be waning, with improved sentiment in the euro-zone and poor rental yields both weighing on demand. Further large price gains are therefore unlikely, but... 15th March 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Lenders' capacity constraints still a brake on recovery Capacity constraints in lenders’ mortgage departments are one of the few remaining bottlenecks in the housing recovery and one of the factors contributing to the marginal role being played by mortgage... 14th March 2013 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Update Is stagflation the next threat to property values? If growing fears of a sustained rise in inflation proved well founded, this will present another obstacle to a meaningful recovery in commercial property values. But a repeat of the 1970s experience... 14th March 2013 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Budget 2013 – Can the Chancellor kick-start homebuilding? Further measures to boost homebuilding will reportedly form part of next week’s Budget. But past attempts have had little success. So what more could the Chancellor do, and with what effect? 13th March 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Housing downturn gathering force The downward trend in both existing home sales and housing starts indicates that the housing slowdown is unfortunately becoming more broad-based. As demand and supply imbalances intensify this year... 13th March 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response FSA Mortgage Lending Statistics (Q4 12) According to the FSA, gross mortgage lending declined in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago. That provides further evidence that the FLS has yet to boost mortgage lending, despite the continual... 12th March 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Supply of homes nears record low At 2.07m, the inventory of homes for sale fell to its lowest level since 1994 in January, and is the sixth lowest level ever recorded in the 30-year history of the data. With home sales now at a... 12th March 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response RICS Housing Market Survey (Feb. 13) Housing market activity continues to improve. But prices are still falling and if anything, given record low mortgage rates, the recovery has been disappointing. 12th March 2013 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey & Housing Starts (Feb.) February's 50,700 gain in employment (the consensus estimate was +8,000) is a big surprise given how weak GDP growth has been recently. Even after taking into account the 21,900 jobs lost in January... 8th March 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack Housing market recovery far from guaranteed Positive news on the housing market in the past few months has led to some renewed optimism that the market may be turning the corner. But more recent data serve to highlight that this optimism may be... 7th March 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Outlook Still gaining momentum Rebounding household formation and continued investor interest will help housing demand rise further this year. And while supply conditions will stop tightening, they will remain very tight. The... 7th March 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Feb.) The increase in mortgage interest rates in February weighed on mortgage applications for home purchase and took some heat out of the refinancing boom. But rates are still very low and will continue to... 6th March 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Halifax House Prices (Feb. 13) House prices increased in February, with the annual rate of growth the highest in 2½ years. But market fundamentals argue against a sustained improvement. 6th March 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update The FLS is giving smaller lenders a helping hand Smaller mortgage lenders are continuing to take market share from the established big lenders. Primarily, this reflects most big lenders consciously reducing the size of their mortgage books after... 5th March 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response CoreLogic House Prices (Jan. 13) House prices rose strongly at the start of 2013 and are likely to perform well across the year as a whole. This is set to be another tear-away year for the housing recovery. 5th March 2013 · 1 min read
