Tag Archives: british
Next year looking optimistic for British buyers looking for dream home abroad
Interest from British buyers looking for property abroad in 2014 was driven by the strength of the pound against the euro and this continues to be the case, according to a new outlook report. It has been a year of contrasting halves with a surprisingly busy January followed by a difficult few months. The market only really picked up in May and June, says the report from Home Hunts which specialises in finding luxury homes and investment properties throughout France, Monaco, Geneva, London and New York. The firm is cautiously optimistic about 2015 and believes that the market should remain buoyant, particularly in the most sought after areas of France, however buyers are looking for a deal and sellers have to be realistic about prices. ‘We expect confidence to slowly continue growing in 2015 as people discover the flexibility of prices. The French General Elections in 2017 is likely to result in a change of government and savvy investors are taking advantage of the current favourable buying conditions to reap rewards later,’ said Tim Swannie, director of Home Hunts. ‘2014 was such a year of contrasting halves so we cannot predict a huge rise in property prices for 2015 but, we can confidently say the market should remain buoyant, particularly in the most sought after areas of France,’ he added. For Home Hunts, 2014 started strongly and January was the busiest month for about four years with 16 sales agreed and lots of interest from international buyers. ‘Bearing in mind that January is usually one of the quietest months of the year in terms of sales, we took this as a sign that things were set to explode,’ explained Swannie. But the market slowed. In France it started to pick-up again with busy months in May and June and this momentum continued into the summer months and with a lot of interest in July and August. The second half of the year saw even more interest, especially from UK buyers because of the strength of the pound verses the euro and this continues to be the case. ‘We have had buyers from all over the world including China, the Middle East, America, South Africa, Brazil, and Russia as well as all over Europe. We have also sold a huge range of properties such as apartments in Cannes and Paris, vineyards in Bordeaux, a chateau in Provence, waterfront villas on the Riviera and chalets in the French Alps,’ Swannie pointed out. He also explained that there has been no real pattern in nationalities of buyers, areas or property styles that our clients have been looking for, but the common factor in all of the purchases has been that every single buyer has been looking for a 'deal'. For example, clients are taking advantage of the current French housing market to find their dream home, in their dream destination, at their dream price. The properties selling at the moment are those which have either been put on the market very recently… Continue reading
UK gross mortgage lending slows, latest figures show
Gross mortgage borrowing in the UK in October was £10.5 billion, some 2% higher than in the same month last year, and 1.3% lower than in September 2014. The latest figures from the British Banking Association (BBA) also shows that approvals have dipped. Some £9.2 billion was approved in October, down from £9.5 billion in September. Compared to the same time a year earlier, approvals in October for house purchase were down 16%, remortgaging down 21% and equity withdrawal down 34%. The total number of mortgage approvals in October was 61,097, down 2.9% from 62,900 in September. According to David Newnes, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents, believes all looks okay for next year. ‘Since the dark days of the recession the UK property market has improved unrecognisably and leaving aside seasonal factors, there is still some momentum in the pipeline for 2015,’ he said. ‘However, today’s sharper than expected slowdown underlines the need for continued support. The majority of aspiring home owners still haven’t felt the benefits of a burgeoning economic recovery, and those households still deserve a leg up onto the property ladder,’ he explained. While the Bank of England and the Government have an admirable desire for long term sustainability in the British property market, that should be tempered with a balanced look at the next six months. Otherwise, until pay packets pick up, home ownership could remain a dream for too many families,’ he added. Continue reading
Property price growth in Australia easing to a more sustainable level
Home price growth in Australia eased again during the September 2014 quarter but are up 9.1% compared to a year ago, the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show. Sydney continues to drive residential property price increases with the Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) for Sydney up 2.7% in the September quarter of 2014 and 14.6% in the previous year. As well as the rise in Sydney, the RPPI rose in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart by 1%, and by 0.3% in Darwin and Canberra. Perth was the only city to show a decrease in prices with the RPPI decreasing 0.1%. The total value of Australia's 9.4 million residential dwellings increased to $5.3 trillion. The mean price of dwellings in Australia is now $563,100, an increase of $8,300 over the quarter. Established house prices for Sydney rose 3.2% and attached dwelling prices rose 1.8% while overall the RPPI for the weighted average of the eight capital cities rose 1.5% in the September quarter of 2014 and 9.1% in the previous year. This includes growth of 9.2% in established house prices and an 8.5% increase in attached dwelling prices over the year. The figures indicate that price growth is easing to a much more sustainable rate, according to Shane Garrett, senior economist at the Housing Industry Association (HIA). ‘The annual rate of home price growth nationally is back in single figures for the first time in a year. At the same time, new home building is stretching to its busiest year in two decades. This is no coincidence,’ he explained. ‘Clearly, the housing industry has risen to the challenge in terms of seeking to meet Australia’s increased housing requirements. However, capacity is bursting at the seams. Any home builder will tell you of the difficulties in sourcing crucial trades like bricklayers, at a time when training budgets in the industry are being slashed by government,’ he added. Garrett also pointed out that the situation around residential land supply is also stifling new home building. It is important that federal and state governments ease the bureaucracy around the release and development of land for new housing. This will help ensure that strong dwelling price pressures do not emerge again in future,’ said Garrett. ABS figures also show that new home lending reached a fresh high for the cycle in the September 2014 quarter, reaching its highest level in 20 years. But Harley Dale, HIA chief economist, said that the aggregate number of loans for first home buyers is still very low from a historical perspective. ‘Policy reform is vital to turning this situation around and needs to be aimed at the excessive and inefficient taxes and regulation levied on housing. First home buyer loans reached conspicuous troughs in the early months of 2011, 2013, and 2014, although these levels were 12% higher than the record low in the early 1990’s recession. Loan numbers have only lifted by 5.1% from this latest 2014 trough,’ he explained. The total number… Continue reading
