UK Housing Market Data Response Halifax House Prices (Oct.) A fourth consecutive monthly fall in house prices points to a strengthening downward trend in the housing market. With demand constrained by concerns over employment and incomes, this trend is set to... 6th November 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Halifax House Prices (Oct.) A fourth consecutive monthly fall in house prices points to a strengthening downward trend in the housing market. With demand constrained by concerns over employment and incomes, this trend is set to... 6th November 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Signs that willing sellers are returning Having fallen briefly following the announcement of QE3, MBS yields and mortgage interest rates were rising again in the final weeks of October. Of course, the bigger picture remains that mortgage... 5th November 2012 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Data Response CIPS/Markit Construction PMI (Oct.) A modest rise in construction activity in October did not change the bigger picture of a sector that is still very subdued. And in the commercial sector, activity barely moved from the two and a half... 2nd November 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update What to make of the decline in the jumbo mortgage rate spread? At face value, the decline in the spread of jumbo mortgage interest rates over the rates on conforming loans is one of a number of signs that restrictions on the availability of jumbo mortgages have... 1st November 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Nationwide House Prices (Oct. 12) House prices edged up in October, continuing their recent see-saw pattern. In the absence of any evidence of a sustained upturn in effective housing demand, the data do not change our view that prices... 1st November 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Homeownership & Vacancy Rates & Case-Shiller (Q3/Aug) Even with the housing recovery well underway, the share of Americans who own their own home remains more or less at a 16-year low. This fact is a reminder that, to date, the recovery still owes a lot... 30th October 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lending (Sep.) The news that mortgage lending is rising while mortgage rates are dropping may be a sign that the FLS is starting to make an impact. But the changes are marginal, and it will take a lot more than a... 29th October 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Canada not immune to potential sub-prime problems The sub-prime mortgage crisis is often miscast as the cause of the US housing bust and that because Canada's sub-prime industry is supposedly much smaller in comparison, fears of a similar housing... 29th October 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Land Registry Repeat Sales Index (Sep. 12) The September Land Registry house price data provide further evidence that the housing market is refusing to join the good news party. If anything, it appears to be weakening further. 26th October 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Homebuilders benefiting from lower distressed supply The continued drop in the supply of distressed homes on the market is encouraging homebuilders to break ground on more sites. Admittedly, with a substantial overhang of properties still in the shadow... 25th October 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Will the Mortgage Market Review lead to more remortgaging? The new ‘transitional arrangements’ included in the finalised Mortgage Market Review are to be welcomed, as they will help prevent ‘mortgage prisoners’ being unfairly treated by their existing lender... 25th October 2012 · 1 min read
China Economics Update False dawn for property Some commentators have turned optimistic about the outlook for Chinese residential property. We remain of the view that, with inventories still high, a big pick-up in property investment is unlikely... 25th October 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (Sep. 12) September’s rise in new home sales is another sign that homebuyers are becoming more willing and more able to splash out on a new home. 24th October 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response BBA Mortgage Lending (Sep. 12) There was a further slight uptick in mortgage approvals in September, but it would be premature to view this as the start of a sustained recovery in the housing market. The improvement was modest, and... 23rd October 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Are mortgage borrowers deleveraging? Despite a sharp rise in the household saving ratio, there is no evidence that households are proactively reducing the size of their mortgage debt. Deleveraging will be a long, drawn-out affair. 22nd October 2012 · 1 min read
