US Housing Market Update Are lower mortgage rates supporting housing demand? News of mortgage rates falling to fresh lows may have become an almost weekly occurrence, but there’s relatively little evidence that this is translating into stronger housing demand among mortgage... 26th July 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Is negative equity a positive for the housing recovery? The reluctance of homeowners who are in negative equity to sell their home and realise a loss is one explanation for the sharp fall in the visible inventory over the past few years. Nevertheless... 16th July 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Is something amiss with seasonally adjusted house prices? Problems with the seasonal adjustment process, caused by the unusually high share of distressed sales in recent years, may be giving a misleading impression of the strength of house prices over the... 28th June 2012 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed twists again, but no QE3 yet In the end, the Fed opted to extend its Maturity Extension Programme (aka Operation Twist) for another six months, but there was no new large-scale asset purchase programme (QE3). Nevertheless, the... 20th June 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update A stronger outlook for house prices? The improvement in housing market activity has not only put a floor under house prices, but, in recent months, has driven them higher. With the big caveat that much depends on how severe the effects... 14th June 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update More homes built for rent to drive further fall in floor space The modest improvement in housing demand combined with recent increases in homebuilder confidence are reasons to think that the fall in average new home floor space should be drawing to an end. But... 31st May 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Foreclosure procedures offer clues to State-level outlook Differences in foreclosure procedures will be one determinant of when State-level housing markets improve. While the national housing market is in the early stages of a recovery, many of the judicial... 18th May 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Two leading indicators that reinforce price stabilisation picture The short histories of US house price expectations and asking price data mean that their ability to give an early steer on house price movements is relatively untested. Nevertheless, the fact that... 26th April 2012 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed content to play waiting game The statement issued today after the two-day FOMC meeting indicates that the majority of Fed officials are content to wait and see how the US recovery develops. In particular, the statement reaffirmed... 25th April 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Lumber prices don’t undermine case for construction recovery The lack of a significant rise in lumber prices does not suggest that the nascent improvement in housing starts will soon fizzle out. The volume of lumber being transported by railroad has a much... 13th April 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Principal reductions useful, but no silver bullet Principal reductions on mortgages held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would herald a policy initiative that directly addresses one of the biggest problems facing the housing market. It won’t solve the... 30th March 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Higher mortgage rates won’t extinguish the housing recovery There are two reasons why a rise in mortgage rates won’t threaten the housing recovery. First, mortgage rates can rise only so far when tighter monetary policy is still years away. Second, even if... 19th March 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Make no mistake; the housing recovery is well underway Concerns that a housing market recovery is not possible when prices are falling misses the crucial point that prices lag changes in demand and supply by up to six months. Make no mistake; a housing... 15th March 2012 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed remains cautious The statement released after today's FOMC meeting included a slightly more upbeat assessment of the economic outlook, but the Fed can hardly be accused of acting as a cheerleader for the recovery... 13th March 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Conflicting aims of REO and mortgage fee-raising policies The Administration’s housing policies are still not adequately addressing the fact that housing supply is too high and that demand is too low. The new details of the plan to sell REOs to investors to... 28th February 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Update Multi-family starts will outperform again this year The latest rise in the NAHB homebuilder activity index suggests that housing starts began the year on the front foot. We think that growing investment demand will prompt homebuilders to increase... 15th February 2012 · 1 min read
