The housing market numbers for January, while revealing, will be less important in getting a picture of the market once February data is released. January numbers in most statistical areas such as mortgages approved, remortgages approved, number of applicants, and other statistics were higher than December figures. Some analysts believe that January numbers may have been a bit inflated due to postponed applications, mortgage approvals, and purchases due to the December Christmas holiday and inclement weather. Meaning that December might have had higher numbers and the difference between January and December would have been less of a gap for some figures.

The numbers for retail purchases will be more revealing as well in February. In January it is thought that shoppers sought out the after holiday sales as well as deals before the VAT increase took place. Many consumers were thought to be beating the tax increase and purchasing items to save money while they could. Whether the figures of January reflect a true picture of consumer spending and confidence is yet to be seen.

In December the economy surprisingly contracted. This was not expected in a month that should have had the benefit of increased consumer spending due to the usually strong Christmas holiday spending. The 0.5 per cent contraction is expected to be revised to 0.4 per cent when revision numbers are published by the Office for National Statistics.

The trend that is not expected to have a surprise in store over a three to four month comparison is that of the number of remortgage applicants. The trend of an increase from January through February is expected to continue. Many homeowners have been seeking low rate fixed rates before there is a standard base rate increase by Bank rate regulators as economists have forecasted.