Filtered by Subscriptions: UK Housing Use setting UK Housing
The economy appears to have regained some momentum in the second quarter. By contrast, the housing market has cooled. And with high house prices increasingly choking off demand and no scope for looser credit conditions, the housing market slowdown will be …
13th July 2017
Credit conditions in the residential mortgage market eased a touch in Q2. But with lenders’ risk appetites set to contract, Q3 may be a little tighter. Meanwhile, there is little evidence to suggest that credit conditions are shifting in the commercial …
With active demand and supply both falling in June, the housing market is still softening. But the fact that the pace of decline eased off a touch may be a tentative sign that conditions won’t deteriorate much further. … RICS Residential Market Survey …
June’s 1% drop in house prices cooled the headline annual rate of growth to 2.6%. With buyer demand still falling and credit conditions unlikely to loosen, the outlook for house prices is subdued. … Halifax House Prices …
7th July 2017
High house prices continue to hold back mortgage approvals and transactions. The latest fall in buyer enquiries suggests that activity growth will continue to disappoint in the coming months. But as the economy strengthens, transactions and mortgage …
5th July 2017
The marginal tightening of the mortgage affordability test announced in this week’s FSR is unlikely to have a direct, restrictive effect on the supply of mortgage finance. But it may have indirect effects, by reminding lenders that the FPC is likely to …
30th June 2017
While mortgage approvals edged up in May, there is still lost ground to make up following a weak start to 2017. That said, with the economic backdrop broadly supportive, we expect a modest recovery in lending by the end of 2017. … Mortgage Lending …
29th June 2017
After edging lower in each of the past three months, the Nationwide house price index bounced back in June to leave house prices more or less unchanged from their level in February. … Nationwide House Prices …
28th June 2017
Mortgage approvals fell in May, and the near term outlook is subdued. But with the economic backdrop a little stronger in Q2 and interest rates still supportive, mortgage approvals should begin to gently recover by the end of the year. … BBA Mortgage …
26th June 2017
Construction sector productivity in the UK has in part been held back by slow adoption of new construction techniques. And while productivity has struggled to rise in countries with higher use of pre-fabrication too, that doesn’t mean those new …
23rd June 2017
The number of homes purchased using HTB suffered its normal seasonal slump in the first quarter. But on an annual comparison, there are no signs that the rate of take-up of the scheme is moderating. That said, the latest data do nothing to change our view …
22nd June 2017
There is little evidence as yet that buy-to-let curbs have boosted mortgage lending to owner occupiers. While first-time buyer numbers do seem to have grown, that appears to have been driven by other factors, such as higher help-to-buy utilisation and a …
15th June 2017
House price growth accelerated in March. But Bank of England data suggests that both LTVs and LTIs have been falling. Combined with falling buyer enquiries, that suggests price growth will cool again over the remainder of the year. … UK House Price Index …
13th June 2017
Despite frequent claims to the contrary, there is little if any tangible evidence that housing market participants alter their buying and selling behaviour in the run up to a general election. … Does election uncertainty influence the housing …
8th June 2017
Buyer enquiries fell in May, ending five months of broadly flat demand. But with long-term price and sales expectations firmly in positive territory, the survey seems consistent with our view that the market is at the start of a sustained slowdown. … RICS …
The Help to Buy equity loan scheme has undoubtedly played a role in boosting mortgage approvals and the supply of new homes. Yet it is easy to overstate its importance and to understate the role of improving economic fundamentals. Contrary to the received …
7th June 2017
House prices rose a little in May, ending a four-month streak of flat or falling prices. But subdued buyer demand suggests that they will rise only a touch over the remainder of 2017. … Halifax House Prices …
The latest data show a fall in house prices, mortgage lending and transactions. In some ways, a gentle fall in prices is positive, helping to narrow the gap between prices and income more quickly. That said, barring a major economic shock, any adjustment …
6th June 2017
House prices have now fallen for three months in a row. But in the context of the the strong price gains seen in recent years, there is little cause for concern. … Nationwide House Prices …
1st June 2017
Mortgage lending fell for a third consecutive month in April. But with Q1’s sluggish GDP growth unlikely to be repeated, unemployment very low, and mortgage rates looking attractive, we expect approvals to recover during the second half of the year. … …
31st May 2017
While mortgage lending has softened in recent months, housebuilders have fared better, increasing the rate of construction in Q1 – a trend we expect to continue. And, with the first quarter’s economic weakness set to be a one-off and employment at record …
25th May 2017
House price growth in London has slowed sharply while transactions are falling. Both developments are being driven by the very high level of prices. With buyer interest more or less stagnant and house price expectations faltering, our forecast for flat …
23rd May 2017
We don’t expect a resurgence in house price growth anytime soon. In London and the south, the forces that drove post-crisis house price growth have petered out. And underlying demand and supply conditions across the rest of the UK are more balanced, …
18th May 2017
Growth in house purchase mortgage advances is stuck in low gear, as high prices weigh on demand and BTL lending remains sluggish. Barring a major relaxation in lending terms, which is unlikely, we expect lending growth in 2017 to be tepid. … CML Lending …
17th May 2017
House prices fell in March, as annual house price growth London and its surrounding regions slowed particularly sharply. That said, with demand rising gently and prime prices recovering, it is too soon to conclude that a correction in London prices is …
16th May 2017
Growth in consumer spending has begun to lose pace in response to the pick-up in inflation that is underway. This has been seen most acutely on the high street, with survey measures of spending on consumer services having held up rather better. … Consumer …
15th May 2017
Today’s data from the RICS paint a gloomy picture for demand and activity in the housing market. That appears consistent with our view that house price growth will be constrained by the pace of average earnings growth over the next few years. … RICS …
11th May 2017
House prices fell a touch in April – meaning that prices have now failed to rise for four months running. However, with both the economic backdrop and future price expectations still solid, a house price correction seems unlikely. … Halifax House Prices …
8th May 2017
With both mortgage lending falling and house price growth decelerating, the latest data suggest that the housing market is treading water. Looking ahead, a solid economic backdrop and resilient house price expectations mean that a correction is unlikely …
5th May 2017
Mortgage approvals for house purchase fell in March, weighed down by high house prices and subdued buyer enquiries. Yet with the economic backdrop still supportive, lending should gradually recover over the rest of 2017. … Mortgage Lending …
4th May 2017
A weak pound has driven materials price inflation for housebuilders to a six-year high. All else equal, rising materials costs will dent builder margins, but they are unlikely to prevent further gains in housing starts this year. … Will materials costs …
3rd May 2017
Mortgage approvals for house purchase fell in March and that subdued demand was, in turn, reflected by a modest dip in house prices in April. The main reason for this slowdown is high house prices, suggesting that prices are unlikely to accelerate again …
28th April 2017
The subdued level of new buyer enquiries could be seen as further evidence of the headwinds facing households this year. But we think it is best viewed as a sign that recent distortions have worked their way through the system, and that stagnant buyer …
26th April 2017
Net additions to the dwelling stock reached an eight-year high in 2016. Traditional completions still dominate, but changes to the permitted development rules in 2013 seem increasingly to be bearing fruit. And while that tailwind might not last, the surge …
20th April 2017
The economic backdrop continues to look favourable, which will help to support buyer demand in the coming years. But with houses already so expensive, prices will need to rise slower than incomes if activity is to be boosted. As a result, we see annual …
13th April 2017
While mortgage availability held up in Q1, data from the Bank of England and the RICS paint a subdued picture for demand. That suggests that a resurgence in house price or activity growth is unlikely in the near term. … RICS Survey (Mar.) & Credit …
The official house price index recorded a pick-up in house price growth during February. But with the index recently overstating house price pressures, that result should be interpreted with care. … UK House Price Index …
11th April 2017
While there are huge uncertainties ahead, the UK economy has entered the formal countdown to Brexit with decent momentum. Against this background, we see no reason to alter our long-standing view that Brexit will prove to be rather be less damaging than …
10th April 2017
Annual house price growth on the Halifax index slowed as prices held flat for the second month running. And, with real wage growth squeezed and demand growth paused, we think house price inflation will cool to 2% by the end of the year. … Halifax House …
7th April 2017
Activity growth took a breather in February while house price inflation continued to slow. And, with real wage growth slowing to a standstill and demand growth stalled, that pattern looks set to continue in the coming months. In all, we expect annual …
5th April 2017
House price inflation cooled in March, a trend that we expect to continue. However, with the economic and interest rate backdrop supportive, the immediate risks of a house price correction seem low. … Nationwide House Prices …
31st March 2017
Mortgage approvals fell in February, the first month-on-month fall since August. With a sharp rise buy-to-let unlikely and buyer demand growth paused, we expect only modest growth in mortgage approvals across the rest of 2017. … Mortgage Lending …
29th March 2017
The recovery in mortgage approvals stalled in February. Looking ahead, while we expect lending to rise in 2017, a sluggish outlook for buy-to-let, combined with subdued levels of buyer interest, suggests that those gains will be modest. … BBA Mortgage …
24th March 2017
Despite some very strong readings from the official index, there is little evidence elsewhere to suggest that the price of newbuild homes has surged. Rather, the strong data likely reflect a timing issue that, in time, will likely be revised away. But in …
23rd March 2017
House price growth accelerated in January according to the official index. But recent revisions to the index have all been downwards, suggesting that today’s data should be interpreted with care. … UK House Price Index …
21st March 2017
Rental growth in London has been weighed down by deteriorating affordability and falling tenant demand. With real wage growth now cooling and the risks to London tenant demand on the downside, we think rental growth will grind to a halt over the remainder …
15th March 2017
Today’s MLAR data confirmed a weak end to 2016 for buy-to-let lending, while data from the CML points to this persisting through to January. That weakness, combined with continued caution from lenders, suggests that mortgage lending will make only modest …
14th March 2017
The recovery in mortgage approvals and transactions saw steady progress in January. But with surveys implying that the recovery in buyer enquiries has stalled, that recovery may not persist for long. Regardless, with prices already very high and real …
10th March 2017
Today’s survey suggests that the recovery in housing market demand has petered out. Looking ahead, with prices already very high and real wage growth slowing, a resurgence in price growth is looking increasingly unlikely. … RICS Residential Market Survey …
9th March 2017
House price growth on the Halifax index is once again cooling. And while activity seems to have picked up, the dip in real earnings growth and already high prices will keep house price inflation on a downward trajectory. … Halifax House Prices …
7th March 2017
