UK Housing Market Update RICS Residential Market Survey (Sep. 23) Surveyors reported the most widespread price falls since February 2009 in September as mortgage rates of over 5% took their toll. Looking ahead, a further slide in house prices appears inevitable. 11th October 2023 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Can Labour move the dial on housing supply? Labour has made housing a major theme of its conference, and the party’s attitude towards New Towns and social housing means that the next election could prove a turning point in the structure of the... 10th October 2023 · 4 mins read
Global Economics Update The bond market sell-off and the global economy The sell-off in bond markets has taken a breather today, helped in part by softer data on the US labour market. However, the scale of the moves over the past week has invoked comparisons to previous... 4th October 2023 · 6 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Homeownership increasingly unattainable Buying a first home has become increasingly difficult over the past 30 years. A high income is still essential, but other circumstances such as whether the individual is buying as part of a joint... 2nd October 2023 · 4 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Spike in housing starts belies weak construction outlook As we anticipated, housing starts in England spiked to their highest level on record in Q2 as builders began work early to avoid having to conform with the Future Homes Standard. More timely monthly... 28th September 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Interest rate hold won’t provide immediate relief Despite ending the interest rate hiking cycle today, the Monetary Policy Committee succeeded in convincing financial markets that interest rates will remain high for some time. As market interest rate... 21st September 2023 · 3 mins read
Climate Economics Update Rishi Sunak draws his UK climate battle lines The news that UK Prime Minster Sunak is set to further dilute the government’s climate policies demonstrates that when the political going gets tough, climate policies are the first to fall by the... 20th September 2023 · 4 mins read
UK Housing Market Update RICS Residential Market Survey (Aug.) Depressed activity remains consistent with falling house prices. The further deterioration of the RICS survey figures in August suggest the peak in mortgage rates seen in July are continuing to dampen... 13th September 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Update High rates restrain lending and push up arrears The Q2 Mortgage Lenders and Administrators statistics from the Bank of England showed that higher rates are limiting lending and making it more difficult than ever for single-income households to get... 12th September 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Real house prices hit seven-year low According to Halifax, house prices are up by 20% compared to 2019 even after their recent falls. But adjusted for inflation they slipped to a seven-year low in August. High mortgage rates point to a... 7th September 2023 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Pandemic trends are approaching their end The adoption of remote work meant central London was left out of the COVID-19 house price boom. But with house prices in outlying towns and rural areas around the capital starting to stagnate too... 5th September 2023 · 4 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Flat prices likely to outperform Having risen in value by much less than houses over the past three years, flats were selling at the biggest discount to houses on record at the beginning of the year. But higher mortgage costs are... 24th August 2023 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Arrears edge higher as BTL mortgage rates hit 6% Mortgage arrears were still low in Q2, but the number of Buy-to-Let (BTL) mortgages in early arrears increased at an alarming pace. We suspect that will continue in Q3. A growing number of landlords... 17th August 2023 · 4 mins read
UK Housing Market Update RICS Residential Market Survey (Jul.) Given the recent rise in average mortgage rates to their highest level since 2008, we are not surprised by the further deterioration in the RICS headline survey figures. And as we do not expect market... 10th August 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Boost to newbuild volumes over New home construction has been surprisingly resilient to weaker demand so far this year. But that partly reflects activity being brought forward before building standards were tightened in June. With... 24th July 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Mortgage rates will plateau rather than fall The lower-than-expected CPI inflation data for June probably signals the end of the upward march in mortgage rates. But mortgage rates are likely to plateau rather than fall as the Bank of England... 19th July 2023 · 2 mins read
