UK Housing Market Update Growth in buy-to-let lending lagging overall market There was a further slight uptick in mortgage approvals in September, but it would be premature to view this as the start of a sustained recovery in the housing market. The improvement was modest, and... 12th September 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Dominance of first-time buyers unlikely to last Business cycles in advanced economies have been exceptionally closely aligned in recent years because of the global financial crisis, but they are likely to become less so in future. Although a global... 11th September 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Recent trends in the new-build premium The new-build premium has more or less held its ground over the past year, with new homes around 15% more expensive than equivalent second-hand properties. But with new-build prices now receiving an... 29th August 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Will forward guidance provide a further boost to the housing market? By reducing households’ concerns that mortgage rates will increase in the near future, forward guidance has the potential to provide a further boost to housing demand. But while the policy can’t harm... 21st August 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Divergence in London house prices grows ever wider House prices in London as a whole have outperformed the rest of the country since the financial crisis, but this is not the case for all parts of the capital. Those boroughs with the highest prices... 31st July 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Housebuilding starts to recover, but so do new-build prices The recent rise in demand for new-build homes, partly driven by Help to Buy, has helped private home starts reach their highest level since the start of the financial crisis. While this is good news... 26th July 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Is gross or net mortgage lending more relevant for house prices? In the short term, whether gross or net mortgage lending matters more for house prices depends on the type of mortgage repayments being made. In that regard, with the recent rise in repayments being... 18th July 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Stamp duty weighs on £2m+ housing transactions The introduction in March 2012 of a new 7% stamp duty rate for homes sold for more than £2m has contributed to reduction in high-value transactions of around 12% in 2012, compared to an increase in... 2nd July 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update ONS release new statistics on private sector rental growth The ONS have produced a new experimental index of private housing rental prices, which reports that rents in the private sector in May were around 1.3% higher compared to a year ago. That is a much... 26th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Demise of interest-only mortgages will also hold back housing demand In recent times, the sharp drop in interest-only lending has been a far less important factor holding back housing demand than lenders’ deposit requirements. But with prices still very high relative... 20th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Financial institutions wary about renewed housing market optimism A rise in households’ optimism regarding the housing market has pushed asking prices to a record high. At the same time, financial institutions appear to have become more concerned about the risk of... 18th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Has housebuilding finally turned a corner? A recovery in housebuilding is long overdue and although we suspect that it may not be as strong as it appears at first sight, encouragingly, there are now signs that it may finally be underway. 10th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Weak net lending is a brake on the housing market Mortgage approvals have increased marginally in recent months, helped by Government interventions. But that increase has been achieved with virtually no rise in net mortgage lending. Thus in aggregate... 4th June 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Will mortgage interest rates fall further? With the base rate at 0.5% and wholesale funding rates at around 2%, it seems clear that mortgage interest rates can continue to fall. But the desire to raise capital, and concerns over what will... 24th May 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Buy-to-let lending will not be main beneficiary from FLS extension The extension of the Funding for Lending Scheme to include mortgage and housing credit corporations has led to some concerns that the buy-to-let sector will be the main beneficiary. But the link to... 25th April 2013 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Is demand from buy-to-let investors about to boom? According to a recent survey, letting agents think that more landlords are currently buying property than at any time since the height of the buy-to-let (BTL) lending boom in late 2006. But landlords... 23rd April 2013 · 1 min read