UK Housing Market Update Negative equity to affect at least 3 million households Last October we estimated that the current housing market correction would leave some 2.5 million households with at least some degree of negative equity. CML estimates, published yesterday, that... 17th April 2009 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Affordability has improved, but the correction is far from over This morning’s Daily Telegraph reported that, according to Lombard Street Research, housing affordability is now better than its long-term average. That much is uncontroversial. However, we disagree... 14th April 2009 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update No news on mortgage lending restrictions...yet. Today’s Turner Review confirmed that the FSA is actively considering imposing limits on mortgage loan to value or loan to income ratios. Whether or not that is in the economy’s long term interest... 18th March 2009 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Northern Rock won’t transform the mortgage market overnight Although welcome, the resumption of lending by Northern Rock will not transform the mortgage market outlook overnight. However, it is also a sign that the Government is increasingly willing to... 23rd February 2009 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update House price falls to exceed 35% The Nationwide and Halifax indices show that house prices are now almost 20% below their peak, meaning that there is still some way to go before our forecast of a 35% peak-to-trough fall is delivered... 6th February 2009 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Another step towards zero Today’s cut in interest rates to record low levels confirms that, for now at least, monetary policy remains focused on reducing the cost of money. We still expect rates to get down to zero, or very... 8th January 2009 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update UK interest rates heading for zero The recent dreadful news on the UK economy and the fall in US interest rates very close to zero have convinced us that UK interest rates are set to fall even further than we had previously thought... 18th December 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Rise in new buyer enquiries needs to be treated with caution At first glance, yesterday brought some rare positive news from the beleaguered housing market. According to the CML, first-time buyers’ share of mortgage lending rose to a three-and-a-half year high... 10th December 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Mortgage payment deferral unlikely to constrain house price falls New measures aimed at limiting the number of people losing their homes are unlikely to bring the housing market correction to an end, let alone bring about a revival. But, they could help to slow the... 4th December 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Little relief for property markets in the Pre-Budget Report The Pre-Budget Report (PBR) contained some good news for the commercial and residential property sectors but perhaps less than some might have been hoping for. The bottom line is that, to the extent... 24th November 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update What do new trackers tells us about the mortgage rate outlook? Although most of the biggest lenders have passed on last week’s 1.5% base rate cut to their standard variable mortgage rates many smaller lenders have not. And the early signs are that the interest... 14th November 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Mortgage interest rates heading to 3% Today’s interest rate cut, from 4.5% to 3%, marks only the early stages of a phase of aggressive monetary easing which will ultimately take base rates to an all-time low of 1%. Mortgage interest rates... 6th November 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Fireworks from the MPC, and much more to come A day late maybe, but the Monetary Policy Committee certainly delivered some spectacular fireworks today in the form of the 150bp cut in interest rates, the biggest move since 1992. But rates still... 6th November 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update One-in-five mortgage borrowers to be affected by negative equity According to Bank of England estimates, negative equity now affects roughly 3% of mortgage borrowers, or just over 350,000 households. Yet, if we are right and house prices still have at least another... 29th October 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Bank of England Financial Stability Report, October 2008 Unsurprisingly, there was little in the way of positive news in today’s Financial Stability Report (FSR) for the residential and commercial property markets. From a property perspective, the Bank... 28th October 2008 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Has the housing market outlook changed? What a tumultuous few weeks! Policymakers around the world have stepped in to bail out the banking system, hopefully averting full-scale financial system meltdown, and UK interest rates have been cut... 16th October 2008 · 1 min read
