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Average property prices up 6.1% in Canada but sales fall
Average property prices across Canada have increased by 6.1% year on year but this figure is being affected upwards by growth in values in Vancouver and Toronto. Indeed the latest monthly property report from the Canadian Real Estate Association shows that excluding data from Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto results in an annual average price increase of 2.9%. The report also shows that nationally sales fell by 2.1% month on month in September and transactions are up just 0.7% compared to September 2014. Sales were down in more than half of all local markets led by declined in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. Fewer homes are going on the market. The number of newly listed properties fell 2.1% from August to September but overall the housing market remains balanced, according to the report. ‘Sales are off the peak reached earlier this year but are still running strong, particularly in British Columbia and Ontario. That said, sales strength varies considerably among markets and price segments across Canada,’ said CREA president Pauline Aunger. CREA chief economist Gregory Klump pointed out that although national sales activity was not as strong in September as it was earlier this year, a lack of supply in some parts of the country is likely keeping a lid on transactions ‘Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver made sizeable contributions to the monthly decline in national sales activity. They also rank among the tightest urban housing markets in the country due to a shortage of inventory and supply of land on which to build, which is why prices there continue to grow strongly,’ he explained. However, sales in September 2015 reached the second highest on record for the month, standing just 0.3% below the record set in September 2009. The data also shows that actual, not seasonally adjusted, sales were up from year ago levels in a little over half of all local markets, led by the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. Calgary posted the largest year on year decline in activity compared to the record set last year. The national sales to new listings ratio was 56.8% in September. With sales and new listings having posted monthly declines of equal magnitude in September, the sales to new listings ratio held steady compared to August. A sales to new listings ratio between 40% and 60% is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings above and below this range indicating sellers’ and buyers’ markets respectively. The ratio was within this range in half of local housing markets in September. Of the remainder, the majority breached the 60 per cent threshold in September and consisted almost entirely of markets in British Columbia and those in and around the Greater Toronto. The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity. There were 5.7 months of inventory on… Continue reading
Rental growth is weak outside of Australian capital cities, new data shows
Residential rental market conditions outside of capital cities in Australia remained weak over the September 2015 quarter with prices falling or remaining flat. Weekly rents fell the most in regional Western Australia with a decrease of 2.6, they were down 2.1% in the Northern Territory and down 1.7% in Victoria. The remaining capital cities all recorded flat condition over the three months ending September 2015. Regional unit markets also showed weak rental conditions, with regional Tasmania the only area recording an increase in apartment rents over the quarter with growth of 2.2%. Unit rents were down over the quarter in regional Western Australia by 2.9%, in New South Wales by 1.5% and the remaining capital cities all showed flat rental conditions. According to CoreLogic RP Data head of research Tim Lawless there has been a significant slowdown in the rate of rental growth over the past couple of years due to new housing supply increasing and investor purchasing at record highs. He expects this trend to continue over the coming year. Annually, rents rose across some of the regional rental markets, however, Lawless noted that the performance as a whole remains relatively weak. Tasmania recorded the strongest rental growth across the country with a 2% increase for houses and 4.5% for units. He pointed out that on the other hand, the most substantial fall in rental rates, relative to September last year, were across regional Northern Territory where house rents are down 6% year on year and units down 6.5%. ‘Those regions with strong ties to the mining and resources sector are pulling regional rental lower as demand for housing continues to moderate. On the other hand, regional lifestyle and coastal markets are bucking the softening trend to some extent with showing year on year rises,’ Lawless concluded. Continue reading
Less than one in five house sales fell through in UK in third quarter
Less than one in five house sales fell through between July and September in the UK, taking the house sale fall through rate to its lowest level since late 2012, new research shows. The figures from home buyer Quick Move Now indicate a house sale fall through rate of 19.62% in the third quarter of the year, down from 36.34% in the second quarter of 2015. The six month average fall through, which offers a greater overview of how the property market is performing generally, shows that at the end of the second quarter it was 28.44% but this fell to 27.99% in the third quarter. ‘As the property market becomes more competitive, buyers are coming to the market better prepared in order to make themselves more attractive to vendors when competing for property,’ said Danny Luke, business manager at Quick Move Now. ‘Often, buyers will already have sought financial advice, have mortgage offers in place, and taken time to really consider affordability so they know what they can afford and they know what they're looking for, so when they find a good property they want to snap it up as quickly as possible and not risk losing out to another buyer,’ he added. He also believes that due to continued market buoyancy and predicted interest rate rises, buyers are keen to secure properties quickly before they're priced out of the market. Meanwhile, separate research shows that demand for London property at below £2 million is set to remain strong, with the city’s population forecast to grow by more than 100,000 every year for the next decade. As house prices grow across London, it will create new markets where properties cross the £1 million threshold, according to the latest London Residential Review from real estate firm Knight Frank. The analysis is based on postcode districts where at least 20% of sales have been above £1 million in at least one quarter since the start of 2014. The minimum threshold was five sales and no postcode district was allowed to have more than one quarter with 20% of sales above £1 million before 2014. The data shows that Hammersmith (W6) had five such quarters since 2014, making it the area that has undergone the biggest transformation in terms of £1 million plus sales. Other areas include Maida Vale (W9), Queen’s Park (NW6), East Finchley (N2) and Muswell Hill (N10). Further south, Battersea (SW11) and Vauxhall (SW8) have consolidated their positions as £1 million markets. Continue reading
