US Housing Market Focus Is now the time to buy? If house prices and rents evolve as we expect then, over a normal holding period, it will be better to own rather than rent the average home. This should go some way to reviving Americans’ appetite... 23rd January 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Early signs that mortgage credit conditions are loosening Credit conditions in the US have stopped tightening and there are signs that they are now loosening. We expect this to continue, supporting home sales and putting a floor under house prices. But any... 19th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Dec.) The fall in housing starts in December was driven by a steep decline in the often volatile multi-family sector, while starts of single-family homes actually rose slightly. In any case, December’s fall... 19th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Activity showing first signs of improvement The magnitude of the decline in existing home sales since the start of the housing market crash has been revised up significantly, but sales now appear to be rebounding as banks begin to lend more... 13th January 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Outlook Downside risks dominate the 2012 outlook House prices remain overvalued on most measures. This suggests that there is ample scope for tighter mortgage credit conditions and rising unemployment to push average house prices lower during 2012... 11th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Dec.) Weekly data show that the bulk of the gain in mortgage applications for home purchase in the two months to early-December has now been eroded. Nevertheless, looser credit conditions should see... 11th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response CoreLogic House Prices (Nov.) The acceleration in the rate at which house prices were falling at the tail end of last year will provide more support to those Fed officials who recently have championed more action to revive the... 9th January 2012 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Halifax House Prices (Dec.) Today’s data from Halifax show that house prices fell in four of the final five months of 2011. With the economy set to re-enter recession and the recent rise in unemployment having much further to... 6th January 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack Another difficult year lies ahead The housing market continues to look fragile. Against the backdrop of rising unemployment and a new recession, we do not expect activity levels to improve next year. As a result, we think further... 5th January 2012 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Data Response Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey (Q4) Today’s Credit Conditions Survey showed that the supply of residential mortgage finance continues to improve slowly. But with lenders now tightening credit scoring criteria again, this is less... 5th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update The end of the US housing downturn 2012 may well be the year in which the five-year-long decline in US house prices ends. But that doesn’t mean it will also be the year in which prices start to rise consistently. Tough credit... 4th January 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lending (Nov.) The latest mortgage lending figures confirm that housing market activity remains subdued. That is unlikely to change while rising unemployment and low consumer confidence depress the demand for... 4th January 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response BBA Mortgage Lending (Nov.)11 There was little in today’s lending data to suggest that mortgage approvals are likely to break out of their recent narrow range any time soon. And with both the economy and the wholesale mortgage... 23rd December 2011 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response BBA Mortgage Lending (Nov.) There was little in today’s lending data to suggest that mortgage approvals are likely to break out of their recent narrow range any time soon. And with both the economy and the wholesale mortgage... 23rd December 2011 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Outlook Finding a floor The housing market is on the verge of finding a floor. After sliding for five years, in 2012 house prices may finally stop falling. But this doesn’t mean that significant and sustained rises are on... 21st December 2011 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Nov.) The 14% downward revision to the number of existing home sales since 2007 confirms that the housing crash has been deeper than originally thought. But this is old news. Much more important is that the... 21st December 2011 · 1 min read
