The desperate shortage of affordable homes in England appears to be worsening, following Tuesday's publication of national housing statistics.
Interestingly, other housing statistics released earlier in January were very upbeat.
Housing statistics released for the month of May show that as soon as the deadline for contracts on new homes to be eligible for the credit expired, the market fell into an even deeper slump than economists expected.
Certain economic indicators like consumer confidence have shown signs of weakness in recent months, while other statistics like housing are improving a tad.
Trends in luxury real estate rarely correspond to the housing market at large, where foreclosure and price statistics remain discouraging.
Other major Federal institutions to be severely affected by a government shutdown include the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).
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The news will be seen as a setback, following recent figures from the Bank of England and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggesting that the housing market was beginning to pick up.
"Good quality statistics are essential for making informed decisions on housing, from central government planning to private individuals deciding whether to move, rent or buy, " she said.
In addition, publicly available statistics could readily have been used to carefully assess that critical assumption about housing prices.
Despite the slowdown in the housing market, the U.S. economy created far more jobs in recent months than government statistics indicate.
The line-up this year: Credit and housing markets, export growth, health care, tax policy, infrastructure, alternative energy and improving economic statistics.
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Nitesh Patel, housing economist at the Bank of Scotland, said first-time buyers failing to get a mortgage were affecting the statistics.
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