Filtered by Subscriptions: UK Housing Use setting UK Housing
It’s still early days, but the first set of data for the uptake of the Funding for Lending Scheme are underwhelming. Only six of the 35 institutions signed-up had borrowed any money by the end of September, and of those six half reduced their lending to …
3rd December 2012
With house prices still high and lending criteria tight, the increase in demand necessary to stoke a revival in house prices will not be forthcoming anytime soon. Prices are currently being supported by a low supply of homes on the market, but the special …
30th November 2012
The slight strengthening in lettings market activity in the three months to October, suggests that many households remain unable or unwilling to obtain a mortgage. And alongside the weak outlook for jobs and earnings, the rise in the supply of rented …
29th November 2012
Mortgage approvals are continuing to rise, helped by a further marginal fall in mortgage rates. But they remain far too low to kick-start a sustained recovery in house prices. … Nationwide House Prices (Nov. 12) & Mortgage Lending (Oct. …
Despite the best efforts of a still very buoyant prime London market, house prices in England and Wales as a whole dropped for the second consecutive month. … Land Registry Repeat Sales Index (Oct. …
28th November 2012
October delivered another healthy rise in mortgage approvals, which have now increased for four months in a row. But with significant headwinds on the horizon, we doubt this is the beginning of a sustained recovery. … BBA Mortgage Lending (Oct. …
23rd November 2012
The Chancellor remains hemmed in by the fiscal position. Indeed, he may well have to choose between introducing even more austerity in the Autumn Statement and letting at least one of his fiscal rules slide. … Autumn Statement 2012 …
22nd November 2012
The tick-up in housebuilding starts in the third quarter is likely to be a blip. With builders increasingly viewing their current stock of homes as more than adequate to meet expected demand, they have little incentive to boost their building activity …
19th November 2012
The steady stream of schemes designed to help prospective homeowners buy a new home is helping to underpin new-build sales. But there is no evidence that these schemes are acting as a catalyst for a step-shift in the rate of new supply. … How effective …
14th November 2012
An improvement across nearly all the indicators in October is perhaps an early sign that housing market activity is finally starting to recover. But with demand and supply still in balance, we doubt that house prices will now start to show gains. … RICS …
13th November 2012
A strong labour market combined with low and stable mortgage rates have not been able to prevent a small rise in mortgage arrears. Possessions are currently being kept low by continued lender forbearance. … Mortgage Arrears and Possessions (Q3 …
8th November 2012
The soft tone of the latest figures on BTL lending are not a surprise given survey evidence that, after a strong 2011, demand from BTL investors has been moderating throughout the course of this year. … CML Buy-To-Let Lending (Q3 …
Another month of pretty dreary housing market data does nothing to alter our view that house prices will continue to drift lower over the next couple of years. But with the recent strength in the labour market unlikely to last, the risk of a larger …
7th November 2012
A fourth consecutive monthly fall in house prices points to a strengthening downward trend in the housing market. With demand constrained by concerns over employment and incomes, this trend is set to continue. … Halifax House Prices …
6th November 2012
The squeeze on real pay is ending but the prospect of an actual recovery now looks a bit further off. We still expect the consumer spending recovery to be very muted. … Recovery remains just out of …
5th November 2012
House prices edged up in October, continuing their recent see-saw pattern. In the absence of any evidence of a sustained upturn in effective housing demand, the data do not change our view that prices have yet to find a floor. … Nationwide House Prices …
1st November 2012
The news that mortgage lending is rising while mortgage rates are dropping may be a sign that the FLS is starting to make an impact. But the changes are marginal, and it will take a lot more than a few percentage points off mortgage rates to kick-start a …
29th October 2012
The September Land Registry house price data provide further evidence that the housing market is refusing to join the good news party. If anything, it appears to be weakening further. … Land Registry Repeat Sales Index (Sep. …
26th October 2012
The new ‘transitional arrangements’ included in the finalised Mortgage Market Review are to be welcomed, as they will help prevent ‘mortgage prisoners’ being unfairly treated by their existing lender. But we don’t expect it will lead to a surge in …
25th October 2012
There was a further slight uptick in mortgage approvals in September, but it would be premature to view this as the start of a sustained recovery in the housing market. The improvement was modest, and banks show no desire to materially increase their …
23rd October 2012
Despite a sharp rise in the household saving ratio, there is no evidence that households are proactively reducing the size of their mortgage debt. Deleveraging will be a long, drawn-out affair. … Are mortgage borrowers …
22nd October 2012
Lenders' willingness to agree new payment plans for struggling mortgage borrowers seems undiminished. But the prolonged nature of the recession appears to have taken its toll on the ability of households in arrears to meet the terms of those new …
17th October 2012
Fears that a surge in housebuilding will lead to a house price crash, and therefore limit the potential boost to the economy, are unfounded. New-build supply is just too small a proportion of the total supply of houses on the market to have a large impact …
15th October 2012
Over the past few months, developments in the wider economy and the housing market have been broadly in line with our forecasts. Therefore, we have not made major adjustments to either our economic or housing market predictions. The big picture is of an …
11th October 2012
In our latest UK Quarterly Review, we look at the heated issue of the Government’s spending cuts. Are they responsible for killing off the economic recovery as some have claimed? Or are they the “bare-faced deception” that others have called them, with …
10th October 2012
It will be tempting to regard the September RICS survey as early evidence that the housing market is returning to life. But the improvement is relatively modest. And until the key drivers of the housing market, namely credit conditions, confidence and …
9th October 2012
A further month of depressed data does nothing to change our few that the housing market will continue to grind lower over the remainder of this year and next. And although lenders are claiming that the FLS will help them provide more mortgages, there is …
4th October 2012
Halifax recorded a further decline in house prices during September, which means prices have now fallen in every month of the third quarter. And with the economy still struggling to grow, this trend is set to continue. … Halifax House Prices …
The Nationwide index ended the third quarter on a weak note. Taken with yesterday’s weak mortgage lending data it certainly seems as though the housing market is one area where there is precious little evidence of “green shoots”. … Nationwide House Prices …
2nd October 2012
Mortgage approvals for house purchase were little changed in August. And with mortgage rates still increasing despite the introduction of the FLS, we are doubtful a sustained recovery is imminent. … Mortgage Lending (Aug. …
1st October 2012
House prices were flat in August according to the Land Registry, and even prices in London showed no change. But demand for £2m+ houses as a perceived safe asset continues to grow, despite the introduction of the 7% stamp duty rate. … Land Registry …
28th September 2012
Respondents to the latest Bank of England Credit Conditions survey reported a sharp rise in the availability of mortgage finance in Q3 and expect this to continue over the next three months. By contrast, commercial property credit remains restricted. …
26th September 2012
The recovery from June’s sharp dip in mortgage approvals continues, but the broader picture remains one of a subdued lending environment. There is no sign as yet that Government efforts to revive the sector are having a material impact. … BBA Mortgage …
25th September 2012
It is far too early to make a robust assessment of the impact of the Funding for Lending Scheme. But the spreads over wholesale funding costs that lenders charge on mortgages will be a key indicator to keep an eye on. In that regard, recent increases in …
21st September 2012
Early indications are that the introduction of a 7% stamp duty rate on property valued at £2m or more has had no detrimental impact on activity in this market segment. Indeed for this part of the market the key drivers of demand, namely changes in …
19th September 2012
The new-build premium tends to move inversely to house prices, due to housebuilders’ pricing strategy and changes in affordability. Given that house prices are likely to drift lower over the next couple of years, this suggests the premium will maintain, …
13th September 2012
Mortgage arrears continued to decline in Q2, and there is some tentative evidence that high LTV lending is starting to recover. But with mortgage rates still edging higher, tight credit conditions will remain a drag on the housing market. … FSA Mortgage …
11th September 2012
The main survey balances from the RICS were broadly unchanged in August. Activity remains very depressed, and prices are continuing to drift lower. But surveyors are still hopeful that sales will rise in the future, perhaps in response to recent …
This month provides further evidence that the housing market is on a gentle downwards trajectory. Government efforts to stimulate the sector, either through interventions to boost mortgage lending or increase housebuilding are welcome, but face strong …
7th September 2012
Today’s announcement of a raft of new policy measures designed to boost housebuilding and revitalise the economy are a welcome development. But, over-optimistic expectations during the boom have left housebuilders still sitting on a significant amount of …
6th September 2012
The small drop in house prices in August provides further evidence that prices are on a gradual downwards trajectory. And there is little in either the housing or wider economic data to suggest that the trend is about to turn. … Halifax House Prices …
This month’s strong rise in house prices is something of a surprise, given the weak level of activity in the housing market and economy more generally. It is therefore unlikely that price rises will be sustained over the rest of the year. … Nationwide …
31st August 2012
In contrast to the first ‘dip’, strong increases in rents are currently constraining the rise in tenant demand typically seen during recessions. In turn, this is due to a relatively low supply of new rented accommodation, possibly because the creation of …
30th August 2012
As expected and in line with BBA data for July, mortgage approvals rebounded slightly from June’s 18-month low, when lending was constrained by special factors. But the poor economic outlook argues against a sustained improvement. … Mortgage Lending …
Once again, strong price rises in London drove July’s rise in national average house prices. But with prices in the North continuing to fall, the North/South divide is growing ever wider. … Land Registry Repeat Sales Index …
29th August 2012
As expected, June’s unexpectedly large drop in mortgage approvals was partially reversed in July. But the rise was small, and these figures continue to highlight that tight credit conditions are compounding the effects of low buyer confidence on housing …
23rd August 2012
The current subdued level of house building is primarily the result of a lack of demand. So if the rumours are right, and new policies to stimulate a sharp rise in house building are announced soon, they may well have little immediate effect. Even so, any …
21st August 2012
Although it is impossible to be sure, the trend towards ever greater numbers of people working part-time out of necessity rather than choice may have halted the downward trend in mortgage arrears. At the very least, however, this trend towards …
17th August 2012
Activity in the housing market declined again in July, with a particularly large fall in newly agreed sales. Although demand and supply remain fairly well balanced, surveyors continue to expect further modest declines in prices. … RICS Housing Market …
14th August 2012
