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Property sales in Spain up over 16% year on year
Residential property sales in Spain are continuing to rise but this may be due to sellers accepting lower offers as prices are falling. The latest data from the General Council of Notaries show that sales increased by 16.2% in April year on year and in seasonally adjusted terms were up 18.9%. But prices are not following the growth trend, down 5.1% on average to stand at €1,241 per square metre. Both houses and apartment prices are falling, down 1.6% and 5.9% respectively. The growth is also reflected in lending with the number of mortgages for the purchase of a home rising by 38.3% year on year. The average amount was €120,125, a reduction of 4.9% compared to a year ago, also suggesting that people are paying less for properties. Meanwhile demand for prime property is also rising, especially in the most sought after areas. Well prices properties are being snapped up fast, often in just a matter of days, according to the latest report from Lucas Fox International Properties. Multiple agencies often find themselves competing with each other for the same clients, all of whom are looking to take advantage of the current low prices, according to the Barcelona based firm. ‘We're having to remove around 40 sold properties from our website each week as the market has picked up significantly. We currently have around 40,000 mainly overseas clients actively searching for homes to buy, the majority of whom want to invest in Barcelona, Madrid and key coastal areas such as the Costa Brava,’ said head of listings at Lucas Fox Ivan Belmonte. The report suggests that the lack of supply is due to the fact that new developments are still fairly slow to come onto the market and some owners are still waiting for prices to rise before they sell. According to Rod Jamieson, head of operations, published price data is often based on asking prices rather than actual sales prices so prices paid are not actually rising. ‘Our statistics show very minimal price increases, even in prime districts,’ he said. The firm’s data also shows that 50% of visitors to its website are from overseas and 50% national buyers. This compares to 56% and 44% respectively during the same period in 2015. The British continue to represent the biggest proportion of overseas visitors to the website at 10%, a slight drop from 2015, most likely due to fears over the European Union referendum outcome. After the UK, most overseas demand for Spanish homes comes from France, the United States and then Sweden. Continue reading
Cost of winter storms in UK revealed by ABI
Residential and commercial property owners in the UK are being urged to make sure they understand flood insurance cover after the full cost of the latest winter storms were revealed. The number of insurance claims for flooded homes and businesses made in the wake of December’s storms has climbed to more than 15,000 with 85% of these either fully or partly paid out so far, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The average cost of each domestic claim for the floods caused by Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank is around £50,000 which is higher than usual and reflects the extensive damage caused by the flood waters in some locations. Insurers are spending nearly £27.5 million on alternative accommodation for affected families while their properties are repaired. The final bill for all repairs is expected to reach £1.3 billion. ‘Being flooded is horribly traumatic, not only because of the initial devastation but also because of the time it can take to get your home and business fully repaired and back in working order,’ said Mark Shepherd, manager of General Insurance Policy at the ABI. ‘Insurers are committed to getting all customers back in their properties as safely and as quickly as possible and it’s good to know that thousands of homes and businesses are getting back to normal nearly six months on. Small businesses are the lifeblood of many local economies and insurers have been working flat out to get many open and trading again,’ he explained. ‘Repairing a flooded building cannot be rushed because of the importance of making sure it is properly dried out before repairs are done. The work needed to fully restore every single property affected in December continues with the same sense of urgency as in the immediate aftermath,’ he added. According to the ABI the drying stage is one of the most important parts of the repair process, and it can take a significant amount of time. When properties are flooded by several feet of water, it gets deep into the brickwork and structure of the building. The building needs to be completely dried out before repairs and rebuilding start, and that means dry deep into the walls, not just dry at the surface. It added that although new technology is being used more often to speed this process up where possible but it isn’t always suitable for all properties and repairs done to a property which isn’t completely dry may create future problems for the owner or resident. There also needs to be full decontamination to ensure the property is safe to return to. Where properties aren’t ready for people to return to them, insurers will be funding alternative accommodation as required. Some people may choose to live in the upper storeys of their property or to stay with friends or family members instead. Businesses may also be offered alternative premises to trade from for a period. Payments have been made towards 85% of claims. Where payments… Continue reading
New home lending in Australia recorded solid growth in April
New home lending to owner occupiers in Australia saw solid growth during April, up 4% month on month but still 5.9% lower than a year ago. The figures, published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, also show that loans for building new homes increased by 4.4% and for buying new homes there was a 3.3% rise. The official figures confirm that demand for new home purchase across Australia remains very strong, according to Housing Industry Association, the voice of the residential building industry. ‘Even though the amount of new home lending for owner occupiers peaked over a year ago, current loan volumes remain elevated by historic standards. This means that activity on the ground over the remainder of 2016 will be healthy,’ said HIA senior economist Shane Garrett. He pointed out that May’s interest rate reduction is likely to provide some impetus to new home lending over the coming months. The HIA believes that 2016 will be another remarkably strong year overall. ‘Further easing on the interest rate front would augur even better for the short term outlook in residential building,’ added Garrett. Compared with a year earlier, the number of loans to owner occupiers constructing or purchasing new homes increased in four of the eight states during April 2016. A breakdown of the figures show that in the Australian Capital Territory there was a 30% rise, in South Australia and increased of 9.7%, in Victoria a rise of 4.5% and in New South Wales a rise of 1.1%. But there were declines over the same period in Western Australia with a fall of 18.9%, a fall of 15.2% in Tasmania, a fall of 2.2% in Queensland and a fall of 1.8% in the Northern Territory. Continue reading
