UK Housing Market Update Outlook for housebuilding still bleak The tick-up in housebuilding starts in the third quarter is likely to be a blip. With builders increasingly viewing their current stock of homes as more than adequate to meet expected demand, they... 19th November 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update How effective are Government schemes in supporting new-build? The steady stream of schemes designed to help prospective homeowners buy a new home is helping to underpin new-build sales. But there is no evidence that these schemes are acting as a catalyst for a... 14th November 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Will the Mortgage Market Review lead to more remortgaging? The new ‘transitional arrangements’ included in the finalised Mortgage Market Review are to be welcomed, as they will help prevent ‘mortgage prisoners’ being unfairly treated by their existing lender... 25th October 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Are mortgage borrowers deleveraging? Despite a sharp rise in the household saving ratio, there is no evidence that households are proactively reducing the size of their mortgage debt. Deleveraging will be a long, drawn-out affair. 22nd October 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Has lenders’ forbearance reached a limit? Lenders' willingness to agree new payment plans for struggling mortgage borrowers seems undiminished. But the prolonged nature of the recession appears to have taken its toll on the ability of... 17th October 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update How will we know if the Funding for Lending Scheme is working? It is far too early to make a robust assessment of the impact of the Funding for Lending Scheme. But the spreads over wholesale funding costs that lenders charge on mortgages will be a key indicator... 21st September 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Stamp duty – What impact has the 7% rate had? Early indications are that the introduction of a 7% stamp duty rate on property valued at £2m or more has had no detrimental impact on activity in this market segment. Indeed for this part of the... 19th September 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Is past exuberance still holding back housebuilding? Today’s announcement of a raft of new policy measures designed to boost housebuilding and revitalise the economy are a welcome development. But, over-optimistic expectations during the boom have left... 6th September 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Why isn’t tenant demand stronger? In contrast to the first ‘dip’, strong increases in rents are currently constraining the rise in tenant demand typically seen during recessions. In turn, this is due to a relatively low supply of new... 30th August 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Stimulating house building – no quick fixes The current subdued level of house building is primarily the result of a lack of demand. So if the rumours are right, and new policies to stimulate a sharp rise in house building are announced soon... 21st August 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Are more forced part-time workers a risk for arrears? Although it is impossible to be sure, the trend towards ever greater numbers of people working part-time out of necessity rather than choice may have halted the downward trend in mortgage arrears. At... 17th August 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Why is remortgaging so weak? While tight credit conditions are keeping all housing market activity subdued, the narrowing of the spread between Standard Variable Rates (SVRs) and the rates available for new loans helps explain... 8th August 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update The other house price divide: new vs. existing house prices The recent outperformance by new-build house prices reflects two factors. First, the increasing use of sales incentives by housebuilders, and second, catch-up growth following a period of... 20th July 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Are Northern house prices leading the way? Contrary to popular perception, the current divergence between house price inflation in different parts of the country is neither new, nor abnormally high. It is possible that, in time, the resilience... 17th July 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Higher value mortgage approvals - a sign of tighter credit conditions? Since the turn of the year, the average value of new mortgages being approved has jumped by 10%. Unfortunately, that rise is more likely to be evidence that credit conditions are deteriorating than a... 21st June 2012 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Halfway through house prices' lost decade? Since mid-2006, successive upward and downward moves in house prices have almost exactly cancelled each other out. With house prices still expensive and earnings rising only slowly, there is a growing... 14th June 2012 · 1 min read