London house prices are “falling at the fastest rate in almost a decade” according to major property lender, Nationwide. And almost 40% of new-build sales were to bulk buyers at discounts of up to 30%, according of researchers, Molior. As the CEO of builders Crest Nicholson told the Financial Times: “We did this sale because we […]
Chemicals and the Economy
Hurricane Harvey: lack of insurance will hit Houston’s recovery
“By Monday, the third straight day of flooding, the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey had left much of the region underwater, and the city of Houston looked like a sea dotted by small islands. ‘This event is unprecedented,’ the National Weather Service tweeted. ‘All impacts are unknown and beyond anything experienced.’” This summary from the New […]
US home-ownership returns to 1960’s levels
US home ownership is back at levels seen briefly in the mid-1980s, and before that in the mid-1960s. One key issue today is that while the US population is still growing, the younger population has quite a different profile from the Boomer generation, as the Pew Institute have reported. In 1980, only 1 in 10 young Boomers were […]
US housing sees major change as middle-market is squeezed
US house prices have recovering for 3 years, as the chart from the Wall Street Journal confirms. It shows two lines: The dark blue line is money of the day: prices rose steadily from 1989, peaking in 2006 at 141% of 1989 value The grey line adjusts for inflation: “real prices” were negative until 2000, […]
Yellen offers hostage to fortune on US growth
Previous chairs of the US Federal Reserve had a poor record when it came to forecasting key events: Alan Greenspan, at the peak of the subprime housing bubble in 2005, published a detailed analysis that emphasised how house prices had never declined on a national basis Ben Bernanke, at the start of the financial crisis […]
US housing markets weaken as home ownership levels fade
Data over the past month continues to confirm my fears that the US housing recovery is going into reverse. The argument was summed up yesterday by S&P’s chairman, when reporting Case/Shiller housing price data for December: “The housing recovery is faltering. While prices and sales of existing homes are close to normal, construction and new home […]
Oil price collapse will likely end recovery in US housing starts
We now have full US Census Bureau data for housing starts in 2014, which shows: Starts returned to the 1m level for the first time since 2007 They were also nearly double the low of 554k seen in 2009 But at 1.006m, they were less than half of the 2.068m peak in 2005 The data also […]
US home ownership back at 1995 level as decline continues
Conventional wisdom seemed to think the US housing report was positive this week. But analysis of the data makes it hard to see why. One confusion comes from media use of the ‘seasonally adjusted’ number. But why do we need an adjustment, when we have data going back to 1959? It simply creates more potential for error. […]
US housing fraud rises as first-time buyers priced out of market
Signs of stress seem to be appearing in the US housing market once more. Thus the Wall Street Journal reports: “An estimated one in seven appraisals conducted from 2011 through early 2014 inflated home values by 20% or more..Bankers, appraisers and federal officials in interviews said inflated appraisals are becoming more widespread as the recovery […]
China becomes major PVC, PTA exporter for first time in history
Be very careful what you wish for. That is the key message coming out of close analysis of China’s latest trade data. Recent media reports were upbeat at news that China’s exports had increased, as it appeared to suggest Western demand was returning. But it seems nothing could be further from the truth. One major concern is that part […]
Jump to page: