A first reading of the latest set of jobs figures provides some encouragement both for the nation at large and for those engaged in construction. Nationally unemployment was down and employment was up, with the rate of those aged 16 or older rising to 70.7% from 70.5% in the three months to March. Encouragingly the improvement came from more full-time employed jobs, rather than from self-employment or part-time work.
The latest jump in CPI inflation is worrying – at least to me. Yes Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, had sought to soften views by warning with the release of the latest Inflation Report that there may be spikes ahead. And economist had been expecting a rise this month – although not this big. But looking at the hard figures, the jump of more than 1.1% in a month – a fairly rare event – seems…
The latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs underline the fragility of the current housing market, showing continued falls in sales of homes. The data show the number of property transactions, seasonally adjusted, in the UK fell in the first three months of this year to a level last seen in July 2009.
The first look at the inflation figures provide plenty of room to be very pessimistic if you owe lots of money and are on a tight budget. The jump in the CPI measure of inflation to 4.4% in February was more than many forecasters had expected. It will inevitably add to pressure on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee to raise interest rates – if for no other reason than a perceived need to restore its dented confidence. For the…
There has been some rather unsettling data released over recent days for those who fear falling house prices. The latest Bank of England data showed seasonally adjusted mortgage lending falling by 10% in December to a level not seen since May 2009 when the housing market slumped. Nationwide’s house price index showed a further slight fall of 0.1% in January, which when other indicies are considered suggest prices are on a downward path. Meanwhile there are worrying signs of falling…
House prices dropped over 2010 by 1.6% on the normal measure used by Halifax and appear to be on the way down. Meanwhile the Bank of England reinforced what we already knew –or at least thought we knew – that the appetite for mortgages waned markedly in the final quarter of 2010 and is expected to decline still further this quarter. So, things don’t look too perky on the house price front (unless you are buying) when we add in…
The rate of inflation is important to construction at present, especially to those engaged in the housing market that might be wary of high inflation rates prompting increases in interest rates or deflation prompting prolonged falls in house prices. But it seems to me that people fall in reasonable proportions into three camps, those who fret about inflation rising, those who remain pretty relaxed and those who fret about deflation. So here is one graph that oddly might satisfy all sets of proclivities. There…
The Nationwide house price survey showing a drop of 0.9% following a 0.5% drop in July adds yet more weight to the growing view that house prices are sagging and are set to sag further. The Halifax index peaked in March and fell monthly up to a minor rally in July. The Acadmetrics index has been heading south since March, although it similarly saw a gentle uplift of 0.1% in July. Hometrack went 0.1% negative in July and the drop…
It came as little surprise that the Nationwide house price survey should show a fall in July. And it showed a pretty significant fall of 0.5% on its seasonally adjusted series. It had been for many months among the more bullish of the indexes measuring inflation in the UK housing market, at a time when others were showing the market sliding backwards. But like most of the indexes, the Nationwide has had to draw big conclusions from a rather thinner…
As the latest round of monthly housing market indicators spills new insight into the pot of understanding the figures seem to support earlier suggestions that both activity and prices are stalling. The pattern is varied regionally and confused by the General Election, pre-Budget anticipation over the increases in Capital Gains Tax for second home owners, the suspension of Home Improvement Packs and the ripples generated by the changes to stamp duty. But the overall trend does now seems to suggest…