US Housing Market Chart Pack Mortgage rates close to a four-year high By the end of January mortgage interest rates had risen to close to four-year highs, and the expectation of that rise briefly boosted mortgage applications for home purchase to eight-year highs. But... 8th February 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Applications (Jan.) Concerns that mortgage rates are set to rise gave both refinancing and home purchase mortgage activity a significant boost in January. But, with mortgage rates now at four-year highs, and no... 7th February 2018 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack Mortgage approvals drop in response to rate hike 2017 ended with no sign of a revival in the housing market. Indeed, coming on top of already high prices and subdued house price expectations, the rate hike led to a sharp dip in mortgage approvals... 7th February 2018 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Halifax House Prices (Jan.) House price inflation cooled to 2.2% on the Halifax index. And with interest rates starting to rise and real wages still falling, we think house price growth will hold at this level throughout 2018. 7th February 2018 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Why is the newbuild premium rising? The rise in the newbuild premium over the past two years appears to be driven by Help-to-Buy and the boost to the demand for new homes it has created. This suggests that the scheme is more generous... 2nd February 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Are rental investors beginning to sell up? A decline in the stock of rental homes may simply be noise. But it may also be an early sign that rental investors are taking advantage of high prices and low inventory to sell up. If so, and if it... 1st February 2018 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Nationwide House Prices (Jan.) The Nationwide measure of house price inflation edged up to 3.2% in January. But with prices high and the activity data weakening, there are few reasons to expect accelerating house price growth in... 1st February 2018 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Focus Will property wilt in 2018? The price gains of recent years have left housing looking expensive and commercial property looking fully-valued. The good news is that interest rate rises on the scale that we anticipate are unlikely... 31st January 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller House Prices (Nov.) According to Case-Shiller, annual house price growth in November edged up slightly to 6.2%, but we doubt it will rise much further. Buyers are staying away due to the lack of homes for sale and, with... 30th January 2018 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Household Borrowing Monitor (Dec.) December’s household borrowing figures revealed a widening divergence between borrowing to fund a house purchase and borrowing to fund other areas of spending. However, we don’t think that... 30th January 2018 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lending (Dec.) Mortgage approvals slumped in December, supporting our view that the sharp easing in house price pressures seen over the last year is here to stay. 30th January 2018 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response UK Finance Mortgage Lending (Dec.) Both remortgaging and house purchase lending fell sharply in December, marking a downbeat end to 2017. But there is little evidence to suggest these falls are the start of a sharp downward trend. 25th January 2018 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Housing risks to deter Norges Bank from raising rates While today’s Norges Bank announcement implies that it still expects to raise interest rates this autumn, we think that below-target inflation and weakness in the housing market will cause the Bank to... 25th January 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Existing Home Sales (Dec.) Existing home sales dropped by 3.6% m/m in December, reversing much of November’s surprise jump. That left sales up a marginal 1.1% over 2017, and just 2.6% over the past two years. The lack of... 24th January 2018 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response FHFA House Prices (Nov.) The FHFA reported a moderate 0.4%m/m rise in house prices in November, and the annual growth rate is now at a 10-month low. Despite tight market conditions, active housing demand is being constrained... 24th January 2018 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Trade tensions simmer as China-US surplus widens China’s bilateral trade surplus with the US rose in 2017 to a record high of US$275bn according to Chinese data. President Trump, according to the White House, stressed his “disappointment” with this... 24th January 2018 · 1 min read
