Twindig Housing Market Index (HMI)

The Twindig Housing Market Index rose by 1.1% last week to 71.4, in a week which saw the Halifax reporting a new high for house prices and Greg Fitzgerald the CEO of Vistry (nee Bovis) likening the UK housing market in 2020 to Wall Street in 2008 suggesting it was too big to fail. A more muted response perhaps than one might expect. However, the highly regarded RICs survey agrees with the hype in the short term but advises caution on a twelve-month view.

It seems therefore that investor sentiment towards the UK housing market caught in the middle of a tug of war between record house prices and being part of an ecosystem that is too big to fail on the one side and tightening COVID restrictions and signs that despite the rhetoric Brexit is not yet done on the other. Whilst I agree with Mr Fitzgerald on the importance of the UK Housing market, Vistry’s share price finished the week down 10% so it would seem that not all share his view.