US Housing Market Data Response New Home Sales (May) The modest 2.1% m/m decline in new home sales in May shows that homebuilders are still struggling to sell new builds at a time when housing demand remains in the doldrums and there is fierce... 24th June 2011 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response BBA Mortgage Lending (May.) May’s rise in the BBA measure of mortgage approvals failed to make up even half of last month’s steep fall. Thus the data seem to confirm that more than just temporary factors have been weighing on... 24th June 2011 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (May) Most of the 3.8% m/m fall in existing home sales in May, to a six-month low of 4.8m from 5.0m in April, was probably due to the unusually severe weather. Nevertheless, the data are still... 22nd June 2011 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response FSA Mortgage Lending Statistics (Q1) Those looking for a loosening in mortgage lending criteria will be disappointed by the latest FSA data. What’s more, the high share of mortgages at variable rates of interest may be storing up... 22nd June 2011 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (May) As most of the sharp fall in housing starts in April was due to the tornados that battered the south of the nation last month, homebuilding activity will probably bounce back in May. That said, at a... 17th June 2011 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Housing in Canada Speaking in Vancouver today, the Governor of the Bank of Canada Mark Carney admitted that housing valuations are elevated and hinted that if there were a sudden weakening in the housing sector, then... 16th June 2011 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Worse than the Great Depression The sharp fall in house prices in the first quarter provided further confirmation that this housing crash has been larger and faster than the one during the Great Depression. On the Case-Shiller index... 15th June 2011 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response RICS Housing Survey & CLG House Prices (May/Apr) The drop in completed sales in May could be a hangover from the disruption caused by this year’s late Easter and Royal Wedding celebrations. But it could also simply be further evidence of the fragile... 15th June 2011 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus House Price Indices - What to watch and why For anyone bamboozled by the abundance of house price indices, which can sometimes provide starkly different messages, we consider the Case-Shiller and CoreLogic indices to be the most useful and... 14th June 2011 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Have borrowers benefited from lower advertised mortgage rates? According to the Bank of England, advertised tracker and two-year fixed mortgage interest rates hit an all-time low in May. Yet the growing gap between advertised rates and the average rates being... 14th June 2011 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Is housing really in short supply? Over the last ten years, the accumulation of excess new housing inventory, sharp increases in homeownership rates and rising rental vacancy rates have all coincided with a house price boom and a run... 14th June 2011 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response RICS Lettings Survey (Apr.) It was hardly surprising that surveyors reported another increase in tenant demand in the three months to April. But the rise in the number of new lettings instructions adds to our belief that rental... 10th June 2011 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Is London still a seller's market? The strength of demand from overseas buyers is often presented as a reason why London is, and is likely to remain, a seller’s market. But the RICS survey suggests that their influence may be waning... 9th June 2011 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (May) The fall in 30-year mortgage rates to a six-month low of 4.5% has not boosted mortgage applications for home purchase as more lenders are asking for a higher down payment at a time when more... 8th June 2011 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack Mortgage approvals slump in April Last month’s housing market news-flow may have been slightly more positive than of late, but it didn’t change the underlying picture of a market that remains severely depressed. And if unemployment... 7th June 2011 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Halifax House Prices (May) The latest small rise in the Halifax house price index does little to change the bigger picture that prices on this measure are trending lower. Given the struggling economic recovery and the fact that... 7th June 2011 · 1 min read
