UK Economics Update End of 100%+ LTVs to dent household good sales The popularity of mortgages with loan to value ratios (LTVS) of over 100% appears to have been a strong support to household goods sales over the past year or so. The decline in these products is... 10th March 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update UK to slip down housing table in 2008 The latest annual European Housing Report published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) echoed other evidence pointing to a general slowdown in the pace of activity and price... 7th March 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update UK to slip down housing table in 2008 The latest annual European Housing Report published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) echoed other evidence pointing to a general slowdown in the pace of activity and price... 7th March 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update UK to slip down housing table in 2008 The latest annual European Housing Report published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) echoed other evidence pointing to a general slowdown in the pace of activity and price... 7th March 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Focus Has easy credit been driving house prices? We estimate that without the relaxation in credit conditions, average house prices would have risen by a cumulative 19% since the end of 2003. In fact, the Nationwide house price index reports that... 27th February 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update No end in sight to the tightening in mortgage lending standards The decision by three major lenders to withdraw their range of 100% to 125% mortgages will have only a limited direct dampening impact on the housing market, since the take-up of these loans has been... 21st February 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Should the Budget lower stamp duty to revive the housing market? Speculation is mounting that the Chancellor might ultimately decide to follow the US lead and deliver a fiscal stimulus to the economy. With the housing market in the doldrums, and first time buyer... 15th February 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Should the Budget lower stamp duty to revive the housing market? Speculation is mounting that the Chancellor might ultimately decide to follow the US lead and deliver a fiscal stimulus to the economy. With the housing market in the doldrums, and first time buyer... 15th February 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Should the Budget lower stamp duty to revive the housing market? Speculation is mounting that the Chancellor might ultimately decide to follow the US lead and deliver a fiscal stimulus to the economy. With the housing market in the doldrums, and first time buyer... 15th February 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Does the credit crunch explain the fall in mortgage approvals? 6th February 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Widening mortgage spreads a sign of tightening lending criteria The increases in tracker rates announced by some mortgage lenders over the past few days add to other evidence that the recent improvement in the situation in financial markets has not prevented a... 28th January 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Widening mortgage spreads a sign of tightening lending criteria The increases in tracker rates announced by some mortgage lenders over the past few days add to other evidence that the recent improvement in the situation in financial markets has not prevented a... 28th January 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Focus Have buy-to-let investors priced out first-time buyers? We believe that buy-to-let (BTL) investors have priced aspiring first-time buyers (FTBs) out of the housing market over the last 3-4 years. Admittedly, BTL did not trigger the abrupt drop in FTB... 25th January 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus The final blow for consumers? We are confident that the housing market slowdown will bring the recent strong rates of household spending growth to an end. At the same time, we are optimistic that aggressive interest rate cuts will... 21st January 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Outlook remains bleak for the Spanish housing market The latest Spanish house price data revealed that house prices rose solidly in Q4 last year. Nonetheless, other indicators of housing market activity are much less healthy and we continue to expect... 18th January 2008 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Can rising equities offset lower house prices? Some commentators have suggested that the positive wealth effect from a possible recovery in equity markets might go a long way towards offsetting the negative impact of lower house prices. This would... 8th January 2008 · 1 min read
