UK apartment prices underperform rest of market since 2019 Paul Dales, economist at consultancy Capital Economics, said flat prices had been hit by a “structural shift in people wanting more space after the pandemic”, as well as increased “worries about... 6th September 2024 · Financial Times
China Economics Weekly Officials ease price controls, mull direct homebuying Allowing local governments to use special bond issuance to directly purchase unsold homes could address the lack of SOE participation in the current property destocking scheme. But this approach would... 23rd August 2024 · 4 mins read
China Economics Focus How to fix China’s property destocking scheme It has been three months since policymakers unveiled plans to encourage SOEs to buy unsold homes from developers. Progress has so far been slow, not least because participation is voluntary and the... 16th August 2024 · 18 mins read
Canada Economics Update Canada Housing Watch (Jul. 2024) Further interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada should breathe some life into the housing market in the coming months, but the dimmer outlook for rent growth and apartment prices present downside... 16th July 2024 · 4 mins read
UK Housing Market Update The shape of Labour's housing policy The overarching theme of the Labour government’s housing policies will be a rebalancing of rights in favour of tenants and aspiring homeowners at the expense of landowners and landlords. That said... 3rd July 2024 · 3 mins read
UK Economics Weekly How Labour could succeed in raising housebuilding With little fiscal space to play with, the next government will have to get creative in order to deliver on its manifesto pledges. Labour’s plan to change the law so that the state receives more of... 14th June 2024 · 9 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Is renting becoming the preserve of the rich? High net migration has led to a big jump in demand for rental properties that has pushed up the cost of rent compared to the average salary. But comparing rents to average pay is not as accurate a... 13th May 2024 · 4 mins read
Canada Economics Weekly Budget unlikely to move the needle for interest rates Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s pledge to create the conditions needed for lower interest rates means the government is unlikely to announce much new near-term spending in Budget 2024 next week... 12th April 2024 · 6 mins read
US Housing Market Update Rising home listings won’t derail our price forecast We think that reports of a wave of new resale supply coming onto the market are overblown. While the number of homes being listed for sale has increased compared to last year, it is still low by... 9th April 2024 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Outlook Fall in mortgage rates will allow market to recover A slight rise in mortgage rates since the start of the year is likely to mean house prices stall in the near term. But our forecast that Bank Rate will be cut faster than most expect, to 3.00% by the... 15th March 2024 · 18 mins read
UK Housing Market Update The Times: Why 99 per cent mortgages will make the housing crisis worse A version of this report was originally published as an opinion piece in The Times on 28th February 2024. 28th February 2024 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Regulatory changes won’t affect house price outlook The Reserve Bank of New Zealand launched a consultation on changes to its macroprudential framework last week. In our view, the proposed tweaks are unlikely to have a meaningful impact on the housing... 30th January 2024 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Focus Stubborn rental inflation won’t prevent RBA rate cuts In recent months, there have been growing concerns that the rapid rise in rental inflation will force the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep rates higher for longer. To be sure, leading indicators... 17th January 2024 · 15 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Australia Housing Watch Although house prices in Melbourne have started to fall anew, we doubt that they are the canary in the coal mine. A persistent shortfall in housing supply should ensure that house prices across most... 21st December 2023 · 4 mins read
Canada Economics Update Freeland avoids pouring more fuel on the inflation fire Faced with much higher interest costs, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland outlined very little in the way of new spending measures in the Fall Economic Statement today. Most of the focus was on non... 21st November 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Outlook Prices to bottom out, but activity will remain soft Surprisingly resilient demand, high inflation, and limited supply mean a severe drop in house prices will be avoided. With the peak in mortgage rates now behind us and the labour market in good shape... 21st November 2023 · 17 mins read
