UK Housing Market Data Response BBA Mortgage Lending (Jan.) Mortgage approvals picked up at the start of 2017, supported by record low interest rates and a solid economic backdrop. But continued weakness in buy-to-let lending will temper the recovery across... 24th February 2017 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Housebuilding (Q4 2016) Healthy levels of consumer confidence and steady economic growth encouraged housebuilders to ramp up production in Q4. And while we don’t think that pace of growth will be sustained, the outlook for... 23rd February 2017 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Update Downsizing is not the answer to the housing market’s woes In theory, an increase in downsizing could improve housing market liquidity. But it would do nothing to fix excessively high house prices, nor would it boost the overall supply of housing. 22nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Overshoot in business confidence The notable improvement in a number of leading activity indicators in the past month or so is consistent with a sizeable pick-up in GDP growth in Australia. But we remain cautious about the prospects... 22nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Move-up buyers inflating housing bubble Toronto’s growing housing bubble is being blamed on desperate first-time buyers chasing a dwindling inventory of homes for sale, but that’s a red herring. The truth is that it’s mainly being driven by... 17th February 2017 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Housing Starts (Jan.) Homebuilding activity has made a slow start to 2017, with housing starts falling back by 2.6% m/m in January. The jump in homebuilder confidence following Trump’s win has also been gradually unwinding... 16th February 2017 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Data Response Employment (Dec.) Today’s data show that the labour market is holding up well. That said, with employee numbers flat, occupier demand looks set to be steady rather than resurgent. 15th February 2017 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response CML Lending Trends (2016 Q4) Weak demand from home-movers and prospective BTL landlords continued to drag on mortgage lending towards the end of last year. As a result, lending volumes recorded their weakest Q4 performance since... 14th February 2017 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response UK House Price Index (Dec.) House price growth on the official index accelerated in December, driven in part by a surprisingly strong set of figures for the North of England. But with house prices high across the country, this... 14th February 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA more concerned about investor lending In February’s Statement on Monetary Policy the Reserve Bank of Australia drew particular attention to the recent pick up in mortgage lending to investors. Given its concerns, if investor lending... 10th February 2017 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack Housing market sees tepid start to 2017 With house price growth cooling and buyer enquiries slowing, the housing market saw a fairly tepid start to 2017. Looking ahead, with prices already so high and mortgage regulations increasingly... 9th February 2017 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response RICS Residential Market Survey (Jan.) January’s RICS survey reported that the number of homes coming onto the market fell again. But while the shortage of homes for sale will keep competition amongst buyers high, house prices are already... 9th February 2017 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Chart Pack Housing market resilient in face of rising interest rates Mortgage applications for home purchase held up in January, even as mortgage rates resumed their upward trend. However, inventory shortages are weighing on home sales. The number of existing single... 7th February 2017 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response CoreLogic House Prices (Dec.) The recent strength in house price growth continued in December according to CoreLogic. Prices were estimated to have increased 7.2% in 2016 – the fastest pace of growth for 2½ years. With inventory... 7th February 2017 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Data Response Halifax House Prices (Jan.) The Halifax report that house prices fell in January, partially unwinding a strong run in the final quarter of 2016. The data, therefore, echoed the message from last week’s Nationwide data that house... 7th February 2017 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Focus Could housing be the weak link in 2017? Our economic forecasts point to a supportive backdrop for the housing market in 2017. Nevertheless, there are three potential risks facing the market. These are an interest rate shock, a shift in the... 3rd February 2017 · 1 min read
