Brickonomics

NHBC figures show new home starts down 47% in 2008

The number of NHBC registrations to start building new homes fell to 106,894 in 2008, a drop of 47% on a year earlier. But it is the comparison of the final quarter of 2008 with that of 2007 that brings...

Posted by Brian on January 22, 2009 3:49 PM

Homes in the US sold for $1,000, will we see like here?

An article on CNN money caught my eye. It seems that homes in areas of the US hardest hit by foreclosures (repossession) are being dumped at throw away prices. At these prices you could practically buy up a neighbourhood for...

Posted by Brian on January 8, 2009 2:30 PM

US are repossessing more homes per head than the UK is building

Now here is a thought. Over the past months, the rate of foreclosures (repossession) per head of population in the US has been running ahead of the rate of new homes built per head of population in the UK. I...

Posted by Brian on October 23, 2008 10:34 AM

Is this the worst time to be "more relaxed"?

I am sure I will not be the only one who draws this parallel. But I suspect it is a classic illustration of why credibility matters in both politics and economics. George Bush on the US economy, October 2008: "I...

Posted by Brian on October 21, 2008 9:02 AM

Two years of US house price falls and more to come

The latest release of the Case-Shiller index shows that house prices in the US have now fallen in every month for the past two years. The price of an average US home on the 20 city index measure is now...

Posted by Brian on September 30, 2008 4:36 PM

Time to price in the cost of losing skills in a housing crash

Until the realisation of the enormity of the task was grasped those at home and those on the way to the front comforted themselves with the line: "It'll be all over by Christmas." That was WW1. How much of this...

Posted by Brian on September 9, 2008 12:44 PM

House prices are falling twice as fast as in 1990 crash

I'll be honest I wasn't expecting the latest Halifax (HBOS) house price figures to be quite as dramatic as they were - showing a further 2% drop in June. Not that I am overly surprised, but on nothing more than...

Posted by Brian on July 10, 2008 11:33 AM

Rich ditch their homes as US plays celebrity foreclosures

Bored with the subprime homesick blues, the US press has turned to tracking down the rich who have handed back the keys on their multimillion dollar homes. It's "celebrity foreclosures" folks! That couldn't possibly happen here......

Posted by Brian on June 30, 2008 5:09 PM

US house prices down 18% from the peak

What happens in the US housing market is becoming increasingly of interest this side of the Atlantic, as confused pundits scratch around for any clues as to what might be in store for the UK. No longer is there a...

Posted by Brian on June 25, 2008 9:56 AM

More gloom for US housing market

Confidence in the US housing market has been further dented by a sharp rise in foreclosure (repossessions) in May according to RealtyTrac figures....

Posted by Brian on June 13, 2008 10:23 AM

Is the UK following the US into a housing market collapse?

The release today by Nationwide of figures showing house prices dropped by 2.5% in May will come like a kick in the teeth to house builders and estate agents. It is the last thing they want to hear given the...

Posted by Brian on May 29, 2008 4:47 PM

US house price fall and fall

The latest stats from the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices show that US house prices are continuing to fall apace - down a further 2% in March 2008 across the top 20 metropolitan areas. This makes a continuous line of house...

Posted by Brian on May 27, 2008 6:55 PM

Meanwhile... housing market gets gloomier over the pond

If the RICS housing market survey has failed to provide enough gloom, here's the story from across the Atlantic. Foreclosures (repossessions) in March up 57% on the same month a year ago, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure...

Posted by Brian on April 15, 2008 10:42 AM

Deeper and down for US house prices

As we consider, or for that matter dismiss the possibility of a house price crash in the UK it is perhaps worth taking a look at the shape of things in the US. The most respected figures for house prices...

Posted by Brian on March 25, 2008 5:05 PM