Housing Market Overview July 2008

Published: July 2008
Source/Company: Colliers CRE

Abstract:
July 2008
Having been the worst period for the housing market since the early 1990s, it appears that we are now entering new territory where the latest figures suggest that we have surpassed the last major crash of over 15 years ago. Quarterly growth and new home loan approvals have recently hit record lows, while the Bank of England is split three ways about the direction of interest rates.

As we approach the first anniversary of the credit crunch, the outlook continues to be gloomy as GDP growth for Q2 slipped to just 0.2%. Yet with oil prices starting to drop, could it just be that recent inflationary pressures that have tied the hands of the MPC are about to ease, allowing a spate of rate cuts in the months ahead that the economy so desperately needs?