Tag Archives: asia
Lending for new home investors in Australia reached all-time high
Lending to investors buying new homes reached an all-time high in Australia July but lending to owner occupiers remained below the peak that occurred nearly a year ago. The total number of loans to owner occupiers purchasing or constructing new homes remained largely unchanged in July 2015 compared with the level in June, but was 9.4% lower than the peak level of lending that occurred in September of last year, the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows. In contrast, lending to investors constructing new homes increased strongly in July. The value of lending in this category jumped by 11.7% in the month alone to reach a new all-time high. Investors have played a major role in the current new home building cycle, contributing a larger share of new housing supply than has historically been the case, according to the Housing Industry Association, the voice of the residential building industry. ‘New home building has been a key element to the broader domestic economy’s continual growth in recent years, but critically, it has also made meaningful headway in satisfying the housing needs of Australia’s growing population,’ said HIA economist, Diwa Hopkins. A breakdown of the figures show that compared with 12 months ago, the number of owner occupier loans for the construction or purchase of new dwellings declined across most states. New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory were the only areas to record increases at 0.7% and 4.8% respectively. The number of loans declined in the Northern Territory by 29.7%, in Tasmania by 29.4%, in Western Australia by 17.4%, in Queensland by 8.9%, in Victoria by 7.8% and in South Australia by 6.6%. Continue reading
UK property prices continue upward as sales fall, latest index shows
Property prices increased by 0.4% overall in England and Wales in August and 0.3% in Scotland but sales fell to a new record low for the month, according to the latest real estate index. Property prices increased by 0.4% overall in England and Wales in August and 0.3% in Scotland but sales fell to a new record low for the month, according to the latest real estate index. The data from Home.co.uk show that the South East remains the UK’s fastest moving regional market and prices outdo Greater London with a six month rise of 6.1%. Overall year on year prices were up 6.5% but this rise to 12.8% of £60,000 in Greater London. Asking prices rose in all English regions, Scotland and Wales month on month with the biggest rises in the East of England and the South East at 0.9% and 1% respectively. The index report says that buyer demand and short supply in London and the southern regions continues to drive the national average higher, but at a lesser rate than last year. The supply crisis is worsening and August recorded the lowest number of properties entering the market for that month since the onset of the financial crisis. It suggests that the key driver for demand is the availability of mortgage finance, which remains abundant. Talk of interest rate rises at the Bank of England has not dented buyers’ appetite. Competition between investors remains fierce in London and surrounding regions where the lack of supply is felt most keenly. Indeed, the data shows that in London and the East of England, the volumes of properties entering the market are down 15% and 18% respectively year on year and down 75% and 73% compared with August 2008. ‘These and other southern regions are clearly sellers’ markets and prices remain firmly on an upward trajectory. Marketing times in the South East region have been the lowest in the country since February. Across much of the nation, marketing times are currently around the lowest we have witnessed since 2008,’ said Doug Shephard, the firm’s director. But he pointed out that in the North marketing times are considerably higher than in the South and prices are not rising appreciably and he predicts further upward pressure on prices over the coming months although the North-South divide remains one of the most daunting imbalances in the UK economy. ‘Whilst the stimulus enabled property boom rages in London and the southern regions, the northern markets continue to stagnate. Price appreciation over the last 12 months in the northern regions lay in the range -0.2% to 1.4%,’ said Shephard. ‘Wales too shows little or no sign of market recovery, with a rise of just 1.4% since September 2014. Looking back across the last five years, we can see clearly the dramatic polarisation that has taken place in the UK property market. Only three regions surpassed the average growth for England and Wales, namely London, the South… Continue reading
Charity calls for new UK garden cities to remain affordable
Homes in existing and proposed garden cities in the UK should be exempt from the proposed extension of the Right to Buy scheme, it is claimed. According to the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), a housing and planning charity, this would ensure that garden cities remain socially mixed and affordable places to live. ‘Garden cities built today must have a primary focus on providing homes for everyone in society and in particular those most in need in the current housing crisis,’ Kate Henderson, TCPA chief executive told the charity’s Planning Research Convention. ‘That means that garden cities must include genuinely affordable housing for essential low paid workers whose employment underpins an economy on which we all depend. Garden Cities must also deliver intermediate forms of tenure for people on average incomes trying to get onto the housing ladder,’ she added. The extension of the Right to Buy to housing association tenants, a measure proposed in the forthcoming Housing Bill, has potentially significant implications for the housing offer in both existing and new garden cities according to the TCPA. ‘While the implication of the proposed extension to the Right to Buy in garden cities is not yet known, if there is a genuine commitment to new garden cities by Government then they will have to include a mix of housing types and tenures, as well as providing social and affordable housing in perpetuity,’ Henderson explained. ‘That is why we are calling on Government to provide clarity about whether existing and proposed new garden cities can be exempt from the extension of the Right to Buy,’ she added. She pointed out that in Letchworth Garden City today around 30% of homes are socially rented which is part of the town's success. ‘We believe there is a strong case for existing and new garden cities to be exempt from the proposed extension of the Right to Buy to ensure they are, and in the case of Letchworth remain , vibrant, socially mixed and affordable places to live,’ Henderson concluded. This autumn the TCPA will produce a series of guides designed to provide more detailed information and best practice examples to support those engaged in delivering visionary new garden cities. The guides are intended to be an important resource for a wide range of public and private sector practitioners engaged in the creation of new communities. Continue reading
