UK Housing Market Update Refinancing risks increase The recent upward revision to our mortgage rate forecast and the fact that the majority of those that need to refinance this year are on two-year fixes means that we are now more worried about the... 8th June 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Update RICS Residential Market Survey (May.) The significant improvement in the RICS survey in May echoed the pause in house price falls in the past few months. But the survey also showed an increase in supply, which could make prices more... 8th June 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Update High immigration helps explain record rent rise High net immigration helps explain why rental growth accelerated to its fastest pace on record last year. Immigration won’t be as high this year, adding to the reasons to think that rental growth has... 30th May 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Rise in mortgage rates will trigger renewed downturn The upward revision to our Bank Rate forecast suggests that mortgage rates will return to a similar peak as last autumn by the end of the year. That would undermine the recent pick-up in mortgage... 30th May 2023 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Tight supply limits US and UK house price falls The increase in mortgage rates has been the main determinant of the size of house price falls in developed market economies. Very tight supply in the US, and to a lesser extent the UK, has also... 25th May 2023 · 4 mins read
Global Economics Update Stabilisation in housing markets likely to be temporary The downturn in the housing market appears to have paused in many countries in recent weeks. However, we doubt that this marks the bottom of the market. With higher interest rates yet to take their... 15th May 2023 · 4 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Longer mortgage terms ease affordability constraints Borrowing over a longer period significantly reduces monthly mortgage payments. So the accelerated shift towards loans with a term of 35 or 40 years rather than 25 has probably helped to mitigate the... 15th May 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Takeaways from our housing roundtables Alongside the publication of our Q2 UK Housing Outlook this week, we held a series of roundtable meetings for clients in London. Here we sum up our thoughts on three key questions which recurred... 28th April 2023 · 4 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Mortgage rates unlikely to fall further As mortgage lenders’ net interest margins are already very narrow, the increase in market interest rates over the past fortnight means that the decline in mortgage rates from their spike after the... 20th April 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Shift towards cheaper homes challenges statisticians The divergence between the Nationwide and Halifax House Price Indices of late has cast some doubt on the direction of house prices. A struggle to adjust the statistics for a shift towards cheaper... 17th April 2023 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Update What do bank troubles mean for UK mortgage lending? Bank failures have had only a modest impact on UK banks’ wholesale funding costs to date, reflecting an assessment that lenders are in good health which we think seems fair. Greater investor scrutiny... 24th March 2023 · 3 mins read
US Commercial Property Update Where does property fit into the banking turmoil? While real estate is not the main cause of the current financial turbulence, as it was in the late 2000s, it has played an indirect role and may be implicated in any further instability. And property... 21st March 2023 · 4 mins read
Global Economics Update What next after Credit Suisse? While the Credit Suisse rescue might draw a line under that particular institution’s problems, it is clear that confidence in the financial sector overall is still extremely fragile. So regardless of... 20th March 2023 · 5 mins read
Global Economics Update How could the situation escalate? We are resending this publication to include clients of our Property Services. We have already outlined some different scenarios of how things might evolve from here and it is still possible that the... 16th March 2023 · 4 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Decarbonising UK residential – the biggest challenge? Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are the main benchmark for environmental standards in UK housing. There is evidence that they are improving efficiency in new-builds and new regulations will... 27th February 2023 · 5 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Buyers respond to higher rates by borrowing less Higher interest rates have begun to reduce the size of mortgage that buyers take out. As two-thirds of buyers rely on a mortgage, that will decrease most buyers’ budgets and put further downward... 23rd February 2023 · 3 mins read