UK Housing Market Update Can lockdown house price data be trusted? Low transactions volumes have made house price indices volatile and inaccurate. Indeed, the ONS has suspended publication of the official UK House Price Index, while the Halifax and Nationwide data... 11th May 2020 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Data Response Halifax House Prices (Apr.) House prices fell for a second consecutive month in April according to the Halifax index. But with low transactions activity likely to be causing extra volatility in the data, readings from the... 7th May 2020 · 2 mins read
UK Commercial Property Data Response IHS Markit/CIPS Construction PMI (Apr.) April’s Construction PMI collapsed to a record low of just 8.2. That was driven by the commercial and residential sectors, which both saw record falls in activity. But looking ahead, with signs that... 6th May 2020 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Mortgage holidays surge to two million The data now point to two million households with mortgage holidays. This suggests that the peak in arrears may be much higher than during the GFC. But, with mortgage credit quality and banks’... 5th May 2020 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lending (Mar.) Mortgage approvals for house purchase slumped by a hefty 24% in March. And with the coronavirus likely to have only cut lending in the second half of the month, we expect an even larger fall in April. 1st May 2020 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Data Response Nationwide House Prices (Apr.) April’s rise in annual house price growth won’t last. We suspect it reflects both low transaction volumes and delays to processing mortgage applications. As the economic hit to employment from the... 1st May 2020 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Outlook Housing market faces serious downsides The housing market will take a deep hit from the coronavirus. We expect housing transactions and housebuilding to drop by 70% in Q2 this year, as physical distancing measures halt activity. Meanwhile... 28th April 2020 · 22 mins read
UK Housing Market Update Do funding spreads signal a credit crunch? A rising LIBOR OIS spread points to nervousness on interbank funding markets. But for the mortgage market, any future credit crunch is more likely to come from lenders’ concerns about the economy... 21st April 2020 · 3 mins read
UK Commercial Property Data Response Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey (Q1) Mortgage availability is set to collapse in Q2. Part of that will reflect limitations caused by physical distancing measures due to the coronavirus. Yet broader concerns about the economy, house... 16th April 2020 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Data Response RICS Residential Market Survey (Mar.) Coronavirus measures have put the housing market on ice. With buyer enquiries and agreed sales in freefall, the market is on track to see a 70% fall in sales this quarter. Meanwhile the collapse in... 9th April 2020 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Chart Pack London Housing Chart Book: Staring into the abyss While London’s housing market showed signs of life in the first quarter, the coronavirus has ended any hope of a recovery. Indeed, like the rest of the UK, London housing transactions are set to... 8th April 2020 · 6 mins read
UK Housing Market Data Response Halifax House Prices (Mar.) The Halifax index recorded flat house prices in March, but that tells us little about the effect of the coronavirus. And with very few housing transactions likely to go through across April and May... 7th April 2020 · 2 mins read
UK Commercial Property Data Response IHS Markit/CIPS Construction PMI (Mar.) March’s Construction PMI fell to its lowest reading since 2009, with commercial construction seeing a particularly sharp fall. Housebuilding saw a more modest decline, but as revenues dry up over the... 6th April 2020 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Update What does the housebuilder share slump tell us? The slump in housebuilder share prices reflects the coming collapse in housing sales, which will force builders to shut down production for several months. Indeed, we now expect housing starts to drop... 3rd April 2020 · 3 mins read
UK Housing Market Data Response Nationwide House Prices (Mar.) House price growth accelerated in March, but that reflected sales agreed from before the coronavirus lockdown. Looking ahead, we now expect house prices to fall by around 3% this year. And with the... 2nd April 2020 · 2 mins read
UK Housing Market Data Response Mortgage Lending (Feb.) February saw strong rise in house purchase mortgage approvals, but the coronavirus will prevent any further gains over the coming months. Indeed, given the stringent social distancing measures now in... 30th March 2020 · 2 mins read
