Fitch Ratings says in its newly-published 'Residential Mortgage Briefing' that the 2013 outlook for house prices and prime residential mortgage performance varies greatly across Europe, the US, and Australia.

There remain substantial concerns for the peripheral eurozone markets of Spain, Portugal, Greece, Ireland and Italy where Fitch anticipates depressed mortgage lending, continued declines in house prices and pressure on incomes and consumer confidence.

The outlook for other markets is generally more stable, notably for Germany and Australia, while the US is finally expected to turn the corner in 2013.