US Housing Market Focus Shale will drive local housing market outperformance North Dakota owes its position as the strongest performing housing market in the US to the scale of shale oil and gas production in the State. Housing markets in a number of the other States sharing... 28th May 2014 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Is the multi-family sector becoming overbuilt? Multi-family construction activity has bounced back strongly since the crash. But the pipeline of multi-family homes under construction does not look particularly large relative to the stock of... 13th November 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Are higher mortgage rates a bigger threat than we thought? The steady rise in mortgage interest rates has weighed moderately on mortgage applications for home purchase and total home sales. Any fresh increase in mortgage rates would take a similar toll. While... 21st October 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Is US housing more expensive than everyone thinks? The rapid increase in US house prices over the past year, and the sharp run up in mortgage interest rates over the past few months, have brought issues of housing valuation and affordability into... 20th August 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Homebuilding recovery will continue despite thorns in its side The homebuilding recovery is running into a number of constraints, prompting three consecutive monthly falls in the NAHB homebuilder confidence index. In a worst-case scenario, confidence could weaken... 19th April 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Will housing equity withdrawal return this year? Rising house prices, more home sales, and a slight loosening in credit conditions should see housing equity withdrawal turn positive in 2013 or soon after. Nevertheless, the amount of equity extracted... 25th February 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Will New York City's housing market continue outperforming? House prices and residential sales activity in New York City look set to underperform the wider US housing market over the next few years. Valuations in NYC are less favourable than elsewhere, the... 28th January 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus New mortgage rules won't hamper housing recovery The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s ability-to-repay rule, and within that its definition of a qualified mortgage, will not hamper the housing recovery. Mortgage-dependent buyers aren’t playing... 16th January 2013 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Is the housing recovery the real deal? The housing recovery faces an array of headwinds, but we continue to think that it is sustainable. Although the recovery remains narrowly dependent on cash buyers and investors, outside of a few... 29th November 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Single-family rentals: the next big thing? The housing crash has created the ideal conditions for institutions to invest in single-family rented housing. But this looks like a one-time opportunity. As house prices recover, so investor interest... 1st October 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus How much lower will the homeownership rate get? Over the next few years, it’s plausible that tight credit, subdued confidence and many more foreclosures will drive the homeownership rate down to 64%, from 65.4% now. Over a longer horizon, the case... 18th July 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus The housing recovery will last the course The sheer extent of undervaluation in the housing market, combined with the prospect of a sustained if modest economic and labour market improvement, should ensure that the current, gradual housing... 21st May 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Are mortgage lending standards easing? There’s no doubt that mortgage lending standards remain tight. But there are some tentative signs that banks might be becoming a bit more willing to lend. This is a crucial development that will... 5th April 2012 · 1 min read
US Economics Focus Housing will soon help the economy, but not by much With the downturn in the housing market drawing to a close, housing should soon start to boost economic growth. But as housing now makes up only a small share of the economy, the sector is unlikely to... 30th January 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Is now the time to buy? If house prices and rents evolve as we expect then, over a normal holding period, it will be better to own rather than rent the average home. This should go some way to reviving Americans’ appetite... 23rd January 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Focus Overseas buyers won't save the housing market While in the long-term foreigners will increasingly want a slice of the American housing dream, over the next five years a rise in demand from overseas buyers will not be large enough to bring the... 5th August 2011 · 1 min read
