UK mortgage approvals drop to 11-month low as market cools June 30, 2014 Bank of England figures confirmed yesterday that mortgage approvals dropped to an 11-month low in May, even as the actual amount of lending secured against property rose to the highest level since mid-2008. There were 61,707 applications approved during the month, a drop of more than 1,000 from April and down from the 75,901 in [...]
Housing downturn would not derail the economic recovery June 30, 2014 RESEARCH released yesterday suggested that a housing market slowdown alone would not send the British economy into a crisis. The combination of climbing mortgage rates and increasing property prices would not be enough to derail current growth, according to a report by credit ratings agency Moody’s. “While a steeper slowdown in the housing market would [...]
London prime rents improve June 30, 2014 RENTS in London’s prime postcodes rose 0.2 per cent in the first three months of the year after a two-and-a-half-year decline, as a recovery in the lettings market began to gather pace. The capital ranked at the bottom of Knight Frank’s Price Global Rental Index, in 18th place, after rents declined by two per cent [...]
Letters to the Editor – 01/07 – Not a new normal, Best of Twitter June 30, 2014 Not a new normal [Re: Is Mark Carney right that the “new normal” for interest rates will be 2.5 per cent?, yesterday] Mark Carney has pointed to financial market expectations to support his assertion that the “new normal” for rates will be around 2.5 per cent. He is wrong. Financial markets do not forecast the [...]
Interest rates could jump back to five per cent – Sir Charlie Bean June 30, 2014 Outgoing Bank of England deputy governor Sir Charlie Bean said yesterday that rates could eventually go back to five per cent, the long-term average during his last interview as an official at the institution. “I think it’s plausible over the very long run that these headwinds will abate. It might well be reasonable to think [...]
Letters to the Editor – 30/06 – Bubble-mania, World Cup, Best of Twitter June 29, 2014 Bubble-mania [Re: Are the Bank of England’s mortgage lending restrictions likely to prove ineffective? Thursday] An interesting debate, but I’m unnerved by how casually commentators and economists throw the word “bubble” around without giving much thought to what they are actually saying. Would a rise in base rates cause the housing market in London to [...]
Bank of England’s new interest rate norm not the same as the old – Mark Carney June 27, 2014 Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, today suggested that interest rates may be heading for a "new normal" of 2.5 per cent, rather than the historical five per cent. Carney was decidedly vague regarding when this norm might be reached, suggesting 2017 as a possible date. He stressed that a mid-term norm [...]
Bank of England mortgage lending cap attempts to stop boom June 26, 2014 The Bank of England announced a new mortgage lending cap yesterday, with the hope that the rule would cool down the housing market if credit became too frenzied. Governor Mark Carney revealed the rule, which will put a ceiling on banks’ riskier mortgage lending. The financial policy committee (FPC) decision means that no more than [...]
Are the Bank of England’s planned mortgage lending restrictions likely to prove ineffective? June 26, 2014 Shehan Mohamed, senior economist at the CEBR, says Yes. Mark Carney’s new measures are unlikely to have an impact. Lenders are already operating within the proposed cap on the number of new high loan-to-income mortgages, and most are already undertaking stress tests on a possible rate rise. The macroprudential tools seek to provide tighter lending [...]
City Moves for 26 June 2014 | Who’s switching jobs June 25, 2014 JLL The professional services and investment firm, specialising in real estate, has appointed Michael Davis to lead a business unit focused on London’s emerging markets. He joins from Cushman and Wakefield, and has particular experience in the TMT, leisure and creative sectors. Sanlam Securities The corporate finance and broking arm of Sanlam Private Investments has [...]