UK Economics Weekly Is the housing recovery faltering? Last week brought further tentative indications that the recovery in the housing market might be losing a little steam. Both the Halifax and Nationwide recorded falls in house prices in February while... 8th March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Halifax House Prices (Feb.) The decline in the Halifax house price index is further evidence that the housing market recovery took a backward step at the turn of the year. It is possible that temporary factors mean that recent... 4th March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack Turning point or short-term blip? (Mar 10) It is too soon to draw conclusions from the slump in most measures of housing market activity. But with the economic data still soft and each rise in house prices denting affordability, we think that... 3rd March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lending (Jan.) House prices rose in July, reversing some of the recent falls. But this does not alter our view that prices are set for a period of considerable weakness in the remainder of this year and into 2011. 1st March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Nationwide House Prices (Feb.) Today’s Nationwide house price index suggests that the New Year slump in buyer enquiries and mortgage lending may have reflected, not only the snow and the end of the stamp duty holiday, but also... 26th February 2010 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Land Registry Repeat Sales Index (Jan.) With January’s slump in housing market activity showing little sign of being reversed and both the labour market and affordability deteriorating, February’s fall in the Land Registry house price index... 26th February 2010 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Nationwide House Prices (Feb.) It is still early days, but our prediction last month that April would be the high water mark for house price inflation appears to have been borne out. For now, house prices continue to rise, but... 26th February 2010 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Are cash buyers driving housing demand? Cash buyers have been a key support to housing demand over the past year. But they may have been a less important driver of the recovery in sales than is sometimes suggested. Moreover, if January’s... 18th February 2010 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Will Lenders Trip Over the Mortgage Funding Gap? The fact that lenders face a prospective funding gap equivalent to a quarter of the outstanding stock of mortgage debt only strengthens our view that a second leg to the housing market correction lies... 15th February 2010 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response CML Buy-To-Let Lending (Q4) It is still early days, but our prediction last month that April would be the high water mark for house price inflation appears to have been borne out. For now, house prices continue to rise, but... 11th February 2010 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Arrears and Possessions (Q4) 11th February 2010 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update A last hurrah for mortgage interest rates? Even if official interest rates remain at 0.5% this year as we expect, with lender’s margins under pressure, competition for retail funds still strong and regulatory costs more likely to rise than... 10th February 2010 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus A double-dip in house prices would not be a disaster The US government’s support for first-time buyers may not have boosted housing activity by as much as has been suggested. The good news is that this means more of the recovery is based on fundamental... 4th February 2010 · 1 min read
