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Majority of Australians think it is a good time to buy a home
Almost two thirds of Australian’s think now is a good time to be buying a home while roughly the same proportion believe the housing market is vulnerable to a significant correction. The latest quarterly housing market sentiment survey by CoreLogic and TEG Rewards housing market sentiment survey highlights the paradox in housing market attitudes. The data shows that 64% of respondents thought it was a good time to buy a property, up from 60% of respondents a year ago. However, 65% also indicated they thought property values could suffer a significant correction. Sydney based respondents, where affordability constraints are the most pressing of any capital city, were the most pessimistic about whether now is a good time to buy a property, however slightly more than half the respondents still felt it was a good time to buy. Conversely, the regions where dwelling values have peaked and shown a downturn are where respondents are most confident about buying conditions. Some 80% or more of respondents in the Northern Territory, Regional Western Australia and Perth indicated they thought it was a good time to buy. ‘With such as a large proportion of survey respondents thinking that now is a good time to buy a dwelling, it was surprising that almost two thirds also indicated they thought dwelling values could suffer a significant correction,’ said Tim Lawless CoreLogic head or research. ‘While the results suggest that survey respondents are concerned there could be a substantial fall in Australian home values, the proportion is lower from a year ago when 75% of respondents thought the market was vulnerable to a significant correction in values,’ he added. When asked whether dwelling values would rise, fall or remain steady over the next 12 months, the majority of respondents expected values to remain steady, with Tasmanians the most optimistic about the direction of value growth over the next year. Nationally, 38% of respondents are expecting dwelling values to rise over the next twelve months. In contrast, a year ago 45% of respondents thought values would rise, indicating that respondents have become less optimistic with regards to their views on capital gains over the next financial year. For rental market conditions, only 11% of survey respondents are expecting weekly rents to fall over the next 12 months, despite the CoreLogic rental series showing the weakest rental conditions in at least two decades. Nationally, almost equal numbers of survey respondents indicated that weekly rents would either rise or remain stable over the coming year, however there were some considerable variations across the regions. Less than one fifth of respondents in Perth and Regional Western Australia think weekly rents will rise. ‘The low expectation of rental rises in these areas is in line with current rental statistics which show ongoing falls in weekly rents across most parts of Western Australia,’ Lawless pointed out. Continue reading
More than half of UK tenants would move away to buy a home
More than half of tenants in the UK would move or consider moving to a different town or city in order to buy a home, according to a new poll of private renters. The poll from the National Landlords Association (NLA) found that some 27% of tenants would relocate in order to buy a house and a further 29% would consider doing so. However, 44% of tenants said they would not move to another town or city even if it meant being able to afford to buy their own place. Tenants in London were the most open to the idea with 87% saying they would relocate or consider relocating in order to buy a home. However, tenants in the East Midlands were the least receptive to the idea with just 14% willing to relocate. The research also shows that 47% of those surveyed said they were unable to afford a deposit for a new home with 22% unable to access mortgage finance to buy. The findings come as the latest English Housing Survey shows that more private rented homes now meet the decent homes standard than ever before, with fewer overcrowded properties and a larger proportion of energy efficient properties. Home ownership is out of reach for so many people, so the idea of upping sticks and moving to a new town or city in order to buy their own home is becoming more and more appealing,’ said Richard Lambert, NLA chief executive officer. ‘I think people are looking at the costs of buying, especially in high demand areas like London and the South East, and realising what they could get for their money elsewhere. Relocating is never an easy decision to make as it will often involve leaving behind friends and family. Then there are all the other considerations, not least whether you’ll be able to find the employment to make a move possible,’ he pointed out. ‘In the meantime, the private rented sector remains a key part of the UK’s housing mix and it’s essential that tenants can rely on it. The latest findings from the government are encouraging but more must be done to improve conditions for the minority of tenants who have a bad experience of renting privately,’ he added. Continue reading
UK rental market sees no Brexit effect so far
The decision by the UK to leave the European Union has not yet affected the country’s private rental market with rents, supply and demand not changing significantly after the vote in June. The latest monthly report from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) says that the rental market is stable, with little to no movement in terms of rental costs. While some 12% ARLA agents reported an immediate dip in rent, an overwhelming 77% saw no change. This contradicts expectations, as prior to the result some 19% predicted rents would increase and 20% expected them to fall while 61% thought they would stay the same. Similarly, the supply of available properties and demand for housing remained the same immediately following the result. Some 67% of ARLA members reported no change in supply and a further 64% reported no change in the number of prospective tenants looking for properties. However, since the result 45% of letting agents have witnessed uncertainty from landlords looking to let properties, which could cause waves in the rental market over the coming months. ‘The rental market has responded to Brexit in a calm fashion, with no immediate fallout amid extreme political and economic uncertainty. What we need is some certainty from the new Government that housing remains a priority with the rental market playing a central,’ said David Cox, ARLA managing director. ‘For example, we want to avoid a situation where institutional investors start pulling away from the market because ultimately this will impact tenants by squeezing supply further and pushing up rents,’ he explained. ‘Although we’ve seen some hesitation from landlords this is relatively mild and it’s important they do not act in haste. Any inevitable longer term changes will then be taken on board with greater ease,’ he added. The report also shows that month on month, demand for rental accommodation was up in June, as was the supply of properties managed on letting agents’ books. There were 37 prospective tenants on average registered per ARLA member branch in June, up 12% from 33 in May. The supply of rental properties rose by 3% in June, from 171 in May to 176 properties on agents’ books this month. ‘If one thing is clear following Brexit, it’s that supply and demand remains a real issue in the rental market. If supply continues to dwindle against growing demand, no matter what the eventual implications of Brexit are, renting will become more difficult and expensive for tenants,’ Cox concluded. Continue reading
