Filtered by Subscriptions: UK Housing Use setting UK Housing
The ONS have produced a new experimental index of private housing rental prices, which reports that rents in the private sector in May were around 1.3% higher compared to a year ago. That is a much lower growth rate than some alternative measures, which …
26th June 2013
The BBA reported a strong rise in mortgage approvals in May, helped by Government interventions. But this improvement comes from a low base, and in aggregate the major banks are still withdrawing credit from the housing market. … BBA Mortgage Lending …
25th June 2013
In recent times, the sharp drop in interest-only lending has been a far less important factor holding back housing demand than lenders’ deposit requirements. But with prices still very high relative to earnings, the lack of interest-only mortgages will …
20th June 2013
A rise in households’ optimism regarding the housing market has pushed asking prices to a record high. At the same time, financial institutions appear to have become more concerned about the risk of house price falls. That does not bode well for …
18th June 2013
Today’s data on mortgage lending and quoted interest rates underline the fact that the Funding for Lending Scheme is struggling to give a boost to lending. In turn, that highlights the risk that, in due course, the upturn in sales reported by the RICS …
11th June 2013
Today's RICS residential property market survey suggests that a degree of liquidity is returning to the owner occupier market. In turn, this has taken a little of the steam out of the rental market. … RICS Residential Market Survey …
A recovery in housebuilding is long overdue and although we suspect that it may not be as strong as it appears at first sight, encouragingly, there are now signs that it may finally be underway. … Has housebuilding finally turned a …
10th June 2013
Sentiment surrounding the housing market appears to be improving, thanks to record low mortgage rates and Government interventions to support the market. But the fundamentals are weak, and with banks still reluctant to lend a period of strong price rises …
6th June 2013
Mortgage approvals have increased marginally in recent months, helped by Government interventions. But that increase has been achieved with virtually no rise in net mortgage lending. Thus in aggregate lenders are limiting new mortgage lending to what can …
4th June 2013
Mortgage approvals were virtually unchanged in April according to the Bank of England, providing further evidence that the Funding for Lending Scheme may just prevent further falls in mortgage lending, rather than provide a significant boost. … Mortgage …
31st May 2013
Land Registry data for April point to house prices in the UK showing marginal gains, but that national average hides a very wide regional divergence. While prices in London are growing at an annual rate of over 6%, they are falling at a similar rate in …
30th May 2013
The rise in house prices recorded by the Nationwide in May could further boost the growing sense of optimism regarding the housing market. But the fundamentals are still weak, and we think much of that optimism is misplaced. … Nationwide House Prices …
With the base rate at 0.5% and wholesale funding rates at around 2%, it seems clear that mortgage interest rates can continue to fall. But the desire to raise capital, and concerns over what will happen when interest rates return to more ‘normal’ levels, …
24th May 2013
Mortgage approvals edged up in April, aided by record low mortgage rates and other Government support for the housing market. But a fourth consecutive fall in net lending suggests that mortgage market conditions are still very weak. … BBA Mortgage …
The discrepancy between estimates of the average house price is essentially due to some measures being close to the mean, while others are closer to the median price. Housing valuations are best assessed using an estimate closer to the median, such as …
22nd May 2013
While housing completions dipped during the first quarter of 2013, this is a lagging indicator and more significantly private housing starts increased. Various Government interventions should mean this improvement continues, but a return to the levels of …
16th May 2013
The April residential market survey showed that surveyors are now more optimistic about the outlook for house sales and prices. While we share some of the optimism with regards to transactions, we are less enthused about the prospects for prices. … RICS …
14th May 2013
The Funding for Lending Scheme proved unable to prevent a dip in buy-to-let (BTL) lending in the first quarter of 2013. While BTL lending should recover in the coming months, helped by underlying tenant demand, it is not about to boom. … CML Buy-to-Let …
9th May 2013
It is too soon to declare Q1’s marginal rise in arrears and possessions to be the start of a deteriorating trend. But it seems clear that the steady improvement in the data, seen since the end of the 2008/09 recession, has now come to an end. … Mortgage …
The Halifax reports that house prices continued to rise in April, and at a fairly strong pace. But other housing market data are not so positive, and taken together that suggests prices are just holding steady. … Halifax House Prices (Apr. …
8th May 2013
The squeeze on consumers’ real pay will intensify even further over the next few months. Thereafter it should abate, although sub-par rates of spending growth are likely to continue for some time. … The squeeze …
7th May 2013
Various Government interventions, particularly the FLS, have given the housing market a gentle upwards nudge. But early hopes that 2013 would be a year of strong recovery will not be realised, and house prices will do no better than hold their ground for …
The very slight drop in house prices recorded in April points to a housing market holding its ground. While prices in London are likely to see some further gains in coming months, prices for the UK as a whole will struggle to see any increase. … …
1st May 2013
After two consecutive months of declines, mortgage approvals for house purchase staged a partial come back in March. A raft of Government interventions is likely to lead to further marginal increases in mortgage lending over the coming months. … …
30th April 2013
Land Registry data for March showed that house prices are essentially flat, rising by just 0.1% during the month. It is hard to see what will generate price rises, but in the absence of a major shock they are likely to hold their ground. … Land Registry …
29th April 2013
The extension of the Funding for Lending Scheme to include mortgage and housing credit corporations has led to some concerns that the buy-to-let sector will be the main beneficiary. But the link to these specialist lenders is indirect, and banks will not …
25th April 2013
According to the BBA, the number of mortgages approved for house purchase ticked up in March. Alongside other Government support, the extension to the Funding for Lending Scheme will help approvals make further marginal gains over the next year. … BBA …
24th April 2013
According to a recent survey, letting agents think that more landlords are currently buying property than at any time since the height of the buy-to-let (BTL) lending boom in late 2006. But landlords themselves do not appear nearly so positive, nor does …
23rd April 2013
The Funding for Lending Scheme was designed with the purpose of boosting new lending to firms and households. Although the impact on lending has been rather modest, at least in terms of the housing market the main beneficiaries do appear to be first-time …
18th April 2013
The Government took further action to breathe life into the housing market in Budget 2013 by announcing a new Help-to-Buy scheme. Alongside the ongoing Funding for Lending Scheme, and with house prices showing slight gains at the start of the year, falls …
16th April 2013
Evidence on the impact of the new 7% stamp duty rate on activity in the £2m+ homes market is contradictory. Data from the Land Registry shows that transactions have held up. But agents report a sizeable drop. We suspect the difference reflects a shift …
12th April 2013
Housing market transactions have now risen to a three-year high, as the increase in mortgage approvals facilitated by the Funding for Lending Scheme feeds through. But the more recent contraction in approvals suggests that this pace of growth in sales is …
9th April 2013
As the UK struggles to grow, she can only look on with envy at the budding recovery in the US. The UK will continue to lag behind for the foreseeable future. But further ahead, she should be able to close much of the gap that has opened up with the US …
8th April 2013
What had looked like the beginnings of a modest housing market recovery is already losing steam. While Government efforts to support the market should prevent significant house price falls, weak fundamentals including falling real earnings and overvalued …
5th April 2013
The modest rise in house prices recorded by the Halifax in March adds to the run of recent data showing the rise in housing market activity seen at the start of the year appears to be levelling off. … Halifax House Prices (Mar. …
The latest RICS Residential Lettings Survey shows tenant demand accelerated in the three months to January. Alongside the recent reduction in mortgage approvals, this provides further evidence that the Funding for Lending Scheme has to date had a limited …
4th April 2013
Credit availability to the property sector, particularly residential mortgage credit, is still rising, helped by some lenders seeking to increase their market share. But the improvement is not as marked as in recent quarters, and concerns about high house …
3rd April 2013
The largest drop in mortgage approvals for house purchase for a year provides further evidence that poor fundamentals are outweighing Government efforts to support the housing market. … Mortgage Lending (Feb. …
2nd April 2013
Land Registry data for February indicate that house prices are continuing to drift up. But while London will see further inflows of foreign capital seeking a safe haven, house prices in the rest of the UK will struggle to make any gains. … Land Registry …
28th March 2013
Following two consecutive months of rises, house prices were flat in March. And with mortgage approvals now falling we doubt prices will show any sustained gains over 2013, despite the best efforts of the Government to support the market. … Nationwide …
Mortgage approvals for house purchase declined for a second consecutive month, indicating that the Funding for Lending Scheme is struggling to make a sizeable impact on mortgage lending. … BBA Mortgage Lending (Feb. …
25th March 2013
The Chancellor’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme is likely to provide some additional support to average house prices, over and above that already coming from the Funding for Lending scheme. We have amended our house price forecasts for this year and next to reflect …
21st March 2013
We doubt many first-time buyers will be celebrating ‘Help to Buy’. Most just want to see house prices fall. But by saddling them with more mortgage debt, that is an outcome this policy will help prevent. … Budget 2013 helps to keep house prices …
20th March 2013
An annual tax on residential property is in many ways a good idea. But the proposed mansion tax is not the best way to go about it. A better option would be to reform the council tax system to ensure all properties pay a tax proportional to their value. … …
19th March 2013
Interest in prime central London property may be waning, with improved sentiment in the euro-zone and poor rental yields both weighing on demand. Further large price gains are therefore unlikely, but it is hard to see where the trigger for a sharp …
15th March 2013
Further measures to boost homebuilding will reportedly form part of next week’s Budget. But past attempts have had little success. So what more could the Chancellor do, and with what effect? … Budget 2013 – Can the Chancellor kick-start …
13th March 2013
According to the FSA, gross mortgage lending declined in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago. That provides further evidence that the FLS has yet to boost mortgage lending, despite the continual fall in mortgage rates. … FSA Mortgage Lending …
12th March 2013
Housing market activity continues to improve. But prices are still falling and if anything, given record low mortgage rates, the recovery has been disappointing. … RICS Housing Market Survey (Feb. …
Positive news on the housing market in the past few months has led to some renewed optimism that the market may be turning the corner. But more recent data serve to highlight that this optimism may be misplaced. Although Government schemes are providing …
7th March 2013
The construction sector has endured a terrible recession, with double-digit declines in output and employment. In theory, there is scope for a sharp comeback. But given the squeeze on credit and public sector building and the possibility of a shift in …
