US Housing Market Update Valuations still reasonable despite house price boom The housing market hit a milestone in April, with real house prices rising above the previous peak recorded during the boom of the mid-2000s. But that doesn’t mean valuations are at dangerous levels... 22nd June 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (May) Record low inventory is weighing on housing market activity, with existing home sales falling to an 11-month low in May. And with booming house prices and rising mortgage rates set to stretch... 22nd June 2021 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack Movers drive up sales to highest level since 2007 The housing market has had its busiest start to the year for 14 years as changing preferences due to the pandemic, forced saving, low mortgage rates, and the stamp duty holiday have led swathes of... 17th June 2021 · 8 mins read
US Housing Market Update Surge in home equity won’t trigger credit easing The home equity share has surged to a 31-year high, which in the past may have persuaded mortgage lenders to ease credit conditions. But Ability to Repay regulations brought in after the financial... 17th June 2021 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Hajj limited again, Iran election, Dubai property The Saudi government’s confirmation that the Hajj pilgrimage will be extremely limited this year will weigh on the Kingdom’s economic recovery. Elsewhere, the likely victory for hardliner Ebrahim... 17th June 2021 · 6 mins read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (May.) Single-family starts edged higher in May but have been broadly flat since the start of the year. While worsening affordability is now weighing on the demand for homes, record low inventory and falling... 16th June 2021 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Should we be worried about rental arrears? The early evidence suggests that the end of the evictions moratorium will not result in a huge wave of evictions. And while the end of the furlough scheme presents a risk, we suspect that the easing... 11th June 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Update What’s driving the surge in rent expectations? Consumer expectations of rental growth have surged to record highs over the past couple of months. But that appears to reflect optimism around the housing market in general, rather than the rental... 10th June 2021 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Data Response RICS Residential Market Survey (May) The looming end of the stamp duty holiday has only applied the slightest dab to the brakes of the housing market thus far. But while the new buyer enquiries started to ease, sales instructions fell... 10th June 2021 · 2 mins read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Home sales cool and prices will soon follow Both new and existing home sales dropped back in April and the May pending home sales index points to further declines in existing sales over the next couple of months. House price growth of over 13%... 8th June 2021 · 8 mins read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics (Q1 21) The rise in mortgage lending to its highest level since the financial crisis in Q1 was driven by a huge increase in existing homeowners moving. As a result, the 9% y/y increase in house prices... 8th June 2021 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Data Response Halifax House Prices (May) House prices recorded another large increase in May as the extension to the stamp duty holiday continued to turbocharge house purchase demand. Timely indicators show that the end of the tax break is... 7th June 2021 · 2 mins read
UK Commercial Property Data Response IHS Markit/CIPS Construction PMI (May) Construction output rose further above pre-virus levels in May despite growing shortages of contractors and materials, and high cost inflation. 4th June 2021 · 3 mins read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (May.) Home purchase mortgage demand continued its downward trend in May and is now broadly in line with its pre-virus level. Easing credit conditions and the reopening of the economy will provide some... 2nd June 2021 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lending (Apr.) Mortgage approvals for house purchase rose for the first time since November in April as prospective buyers responded to the extension of the stamp duty holiday. But even before that modest increase... 2nd June 2021 · 2 mins read
US Housing Market Update House prices will avoid a dangerous bubble House price expectations have taken off since the start of the year, and that raises the risk of a self-reinforcing bubble forming. However, there are no signs that lenders are rapidly loosening... 1st June 2021 · 3 mins read
