Filtered by Subscriptions: UK Housing Use setting UK Housing
Borrowing curbed in response to rising interest rates With mortgage rates surging, the number of loans issued to buy a home dropped sharply in Q1, with Buy-to-Let (BTL) lending seeing the most severe drop. Those that did press ahead with a home purchase …
13th June 2023
Demand continues to slump In contrast to signs of a stabilisation in house prices and sales volumes in other indicators, the RICS survey remained downbeat in April. In particular, the renewed fall in the new buyer enquiries balance left it little higher …
11th May 2023
Prices slip in April, but remarkably resilient overall The small slip in the Halifax House Price index in April bought it a little more in line with the Nationwide figures. But prices remain remarkably resilient to the largest rise in mortgage rates since …
9th May 2023
Divergence opens up between housing and commercial construction The April CIPS Construction PMI showed a growing divergence between the housing and commercial sectors, with activity in the latter seeing a gradual recovery while the former declined to a …
5th May 2023
Recovery unlikely to continue The rise in mortgage approvals in March was stronger than consensus expectations, reflecting the reversal of the spike in mortgage rates since the autumn. However, we don’t think that mortgage rates can fall any further …
4th May 2023
House price falls pause in April The pause in house price falls in April suggested that the reversal of the autumn spike in mortgage rates has allowed prices to stabilise. But with affordability still very stretched by historical standards and the economy …
2nd May 2023
Mortgage demand still the limiting factor The headline mortgage availability balance of the credit conditions survey turned positive for the first time in over a year in Q1. The collapse of SVB while the survey was in the field probably helps explain why …
13th April 2023
Survey undermines hopes of a spring awakening The marginal improvement in the headline prices paid and new buyer enquiries balance of the RICS Residential Survey did not alter the overarching message that prices are falling and sales slumping. While the …
12th April 2023
Construction activity holds up as housing enters the doldrums The March headline CIPS Construction PMI reversed some of its surprise jump in February, but it remained in expansionary territory. That was driven by the commercial sector, where strong …
6th April 2023
House price indices diverge The third consecutive monthly increase in house prices recorded by Halifax suggests that pricing is proving remarkably resilient to higher mortgage rates. But it is at odds with the consistent fall in the Nationwide house …
Adjustment to higher mortgage rates continues House prices fell for a seventh consecutive month in February, taking the total fall from their peak in August to 4.6%. With house prices still significantly overvalued in today’s higher mortgage rate …
31st March 2023
Mortgage lending still depressed despite slight recovery Reflecting the partial unwinding of the spike in mortgage rates following the “mini” budget, mortgage approvals rose to their highest level for three months in February. However, with mortgage rates …
29th March 2023
Latest figures confirm plummeting demand during Q4 The detailed mortgage lending data for Q4 showed a slump in demand, as rising mortgage rates began to bite. The latest MLAR data confirmed the sharp turnaround in market conditions and suggest that, with …
14th March 2023
Patches of positivity unlikely to last The slight recovery in the new buyer enquiries balance in February suggested that the reversal of the autumn spike in mortgage rates allowed a limited revival in demand. But with sales volumes falling and price …
9th March 2023
The substantial recovery in Halifax house prices in February added weight to the view that we will see a stand off between buyers and sellers that causes transactions to slump, but minimal price falls. That would be a historical anomaly, which is why our …
7th March 2023
Construction activity rebounds The headline CIPS construction index rebounded back into expansionary territory in February and the forward-looking indicators also showed further improvement. Commercial developers may be taking advantage of lower input …
6th March 2023
Q4 spike in mortgage rates continues to depress approvals The spike in mortgage rates in October and November last year ensured that mortgage approvals remained at a similar level to the depths of the 2007-09 financial crisis in January. That could mark …
1st March 2023
House prices continue to slide The further fall in house prices in February will keep optimism based on reports that demand has recovered in check. Indeed, even if buyer volumes have recovered, the amount they can spend on a new home has been reduced by …
Survey delivers reality check to new year optimism There was some hope that, in keeping with the pause in house price falls recorded by Halifax in January, the RICS survey would show a recovery in demand on the back of the modest decline in mortgage …
9th February 2023
House price falls pause (for now) We suspect that the pause in house price falls in January reported by Halifax will prove temporary. Despite the slight decline in mortgage rates, affordability still looks far too stretched for house prices to have …
7th February 2023
Commercial and housing activity falls further, but expectations brighten The headline CIPS construction index showed a contraction in activity in January, with the housing index seeing a substantial decline. But the forward-looking indicators improved, …
6th February 2023
High mortgage rates maintain downward pressure on prices Given very stretched mortgage affordability, it was unsurprising to see house prices continue to decline at the beginning of 2023. The fall in house prices since their peak last August grew to 3.2% …
1st February 2023
Approvals fall to their lowest since 2009 A further slump in mortgage approvals in December, to the lowest level since the height of the pandemic, confirmed that the extremely high cost of mortgage borrowing has caused more buyers to withdraw from the …
31st January 2023
Demand for mortgages collapses due to spike in mortgage rates The Q4 2022 Credit Conditions Survey shows that while lenders tightened lending criteria in the aftermath of the “mini” budget, the main constraint on lending volumes was a collapse in demand …
19th January 2023
Prices and activity continue to plummet There was little to cheer in the December RICS survey, with prices continuing to drop and sales volumes falling further from November’s already-subdued levels. The past prices balance of the RICS Residential Survey …
Headline index falls below 50 as recession hits property demand The headline CIPS construction index fell below 50 in December, indicating a contraction in activity, as the recession hit demand and developers’ concerns about capital values increased. With …
6th January 2023
House price falls already well advanced The further large fall in house prices recorded by Halifax in December suggests that the house price correction is further advanced than we previously thought. Indeed, while the Nationwide figures point to a …
Approvals collapse as adjustment to higher rates begins in earnest The impact of the surge in mortgage rates following the “mini” budget on 23 rd September was realised in November as mortgage approvals collapsed. The modest drop back in fixed mortgage …
4th January 2023
Falls in house prices will continue throughout 2023 The slowdown in house price falls in December is little comfort when leading indicators point to further sharp declines. Despite mortgage rates edging lower in recent weeks, we continue to think that …
30th December 2022
Q3 likely to mark a peak for lending volumes The detailed mortgage lending data for Q3 show that demand was resilient to rising mortgage rates at first. Loan-to-income ratios crept up despite rising financing costs. But with interest rates on new …
13th December 2022
Survey shows prices and activity continuing to fall in November The RICS survey confirmed that there were widespread house price falls in November. Surveyors expect a further drop in prices and slowdown in transactions ahead, in line with our forecasts. …
8th December 2022
Sharp drop confirms that house price correction has begun The largest monthly fall in the Halifax house price index since October 2008 confirms that the house price correction that we forecast has begun. While mortgage rates have fallen back somewhat in …
7th December 2022
Headline index starts to fall as recession cuts demand As expected, the headline CIPS construction index retreated in November as falling demand outweighed the benefit of easing prices and an increase in the availability of contractors. As the recession …
6th December 2022
Sharp drop in prices as market adjusts to higher mortgage rates The 1.4% m/m drop in house prices in November was far larger than anyone expected, raising the risk that prices fall more rapidly and further in response to high mortgage rates than we …
1st December 2022
Slump in approvals points to sharper downturn in activity ahead Rocketing mortgage rates led to a sharp drop in mortgage approvals in October. While quoted mortgage rates have peaked they are unlikely to fall much below 5% next year, keeping the cost of …
29th November 2022
Demand collapses The October RICS Residential survey showed that the spike in quoted mortgage rates to over 6%, a level last seen in 2008, has triggered a collapse in buyer demand comparable to that seen in the financial crisis. That’s consistent with our …
10th November 2022
Halifax confirms house price declines are now entrenched The 0.4% m/m fall in house prices reported by Halifax backs up the data from Nationwide that house price falls are becoming entrenched. Surging mortgage interest rates have flattened demand, as many …
7th November 2022
Improvement in headline index will not last long As was the case last month, an improvement in delivery times and subcontractor availability drove a surprise rise on the headline construction PMI in October. But a slowing economy and higher financing …
4th November 2022
House prices now falling as higher mortgage rates bite The jump in mortgage interest rates is now being felt in house prices, with Nationwide reporting the first month-on-month fall since July 2021. House prices are now set to stay on a sustained downward …
1st November 2022
Approvals begin to fall as rising rates take effect Mortgage approvals fell in September as buyers began to adjust to rising interest rates. With further rate rises likely in the coming months, we expect this downward trend to continue and for lending to …
31st October 2022
Credit conditions already tightening prior to market turmoil The Q3 credit conditions survey doesn’t capture the impact of the market turmoil of recent weeks, with the deadline for responses falling a week before the “mini-budget”. Nonetheless, it shows …
13th October 2022
Growing acceptance price falls are in the pipeline While optimists can still point to limited supply, a fifth consecutive drop in new buyer enquiries in the RICS survey in September has convinced a majority of surveyors that house prices are heading for a …
Halifax confirms that house prices have stalled The 0.1% monthly fall in the Halifax house price index in September echoed the message from Nationwide earlier this week that house prices have now stalled. Given the sharp rise in mortgage rates over the …
7th October 2022
Jump in approvals likely a rush to beat soaring rates The surprise jump in mortgage approvals in August probably reflected a rush to lock in mortgage offers as interest rates surged. There is a possibility that could be repeated next month, but …
30th September 2022
The stall that precedes the fall The stall in house prices in September was little surprise given the growing downward pressure on demand from rising mortgage rates. We suspect that, despite the reduction in stamp duty announced last week, this marks …
Arrears will rise as lenders adjust to higher rates The detailed mortgage lending data for Q2 show solid lending volumes, growing leniency on deposit sizes and income multiples, and arrears at a record low. But the ongoing adjustment to higher interest …
14th September 2022
Downturn becoming entrenched A further deterioration in demand in August has led surveyors to accept that a fall in prices is coming. The survey is already consistent with prices falling by 2% q/q in Q4 this year, and the headwinds to demand will only …
8th September 2022
House prices rise while outlook deteriorates The modest 0.4% rise recorded by Halifax in August confirms that house prices have continued to increase despite the sharp increases in mortgage rates we have seen so far and growing pressure on household …
7th September 2022
Rise masks deteriorating outlook The surprise increase in the construction PMI is little cause for optimism given it was driven by the reversal of an idiosyncratic fall in civil engineering activity a month earlier. Indeed, the commercial activity …
6th September 2022
Don’t read too much into solid August gain The solid 0.8% m/m increase in house prices in August suggested that house prices managed to retain some positive momentum despite growing pressure on households’ finances. But the drag on demand from the …
1st September 2022
