...Outlooks Mostly Stable; Divergence Increasing: The outlooks for the mortgage and housing markets for most of the 22 countries in this report are Stable or Stable/Positive. The number of outlooks that have changed (six improving and three deteriorating) has risen since last year, reflecting shifts in relative performance and a greater disparity of conditions globally. Low mortgage rates, GDP growth and improving employment will support the housing and mortgage market performance of many countries. But where one or more of these are missing ¡ as in Brazil, South Africa, and Singapore ¡ outlooks have worsened since last year. All of the countries with improved outlooks are located in Europe, where the peripheral eurozone markets continue to rebound. Rate Impact Generally Muted: Despite the prospect of rate hikes, we do not expect performance in the US to deteriorate significantly as most mortgages there have fixed rates. UK non-conforming pools are more vulnerable to higher rates than prime...
