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Miami continues to see steady growth in its residential property market
Median residential sales in Miami, one of the US’s most dynamic real estate markets, continued rising last month and have now been increasing for more than three years. Indeed the latest figures from the Miami Association of Realtors shows that single family home sales registered double digit growth in February and set an all-time Miami annual record in 2014, up 14.2% compared to February 2014. Existing condominium sales posted the second best year in Miami history in 2014 despite an increase in new condo construction and rose 1.4% from February of last year. Combined, Miami-Dade County residential real estate sales increased 6.8% compared to the same time period in 2014. ‘Miami residential home sales continue to grow at a moderate rate. Seller confidence and buyer demand in the Miami real estate market is leading to more active listings and higher sale prices,’ said Christopher Zoller, the association’s residential president. The data also shows that family home prices increased again in February but remain at affordable 2004 levels despite more than three years of consistent year on year increases. Condo prices also increased in February 2015, marking 44 months of growth in the last 45 months. The median sale price for single family homes increased 7.9% to $245,000 in February 2015 from $227,000 in February 2014. The average sale price for single family homes increased 4% to $431,746 last month from $415,312 during the same time period last year. Compared to February 2014, the median sale price for condominiums increased 6.8% to $189,000 from $177,000 a year prior. The average sale for condominiums increased 8.4% to $365,856 from $337,382 in February 2014. Miami single family homes and condominiums continue to sell close to asking price, reflecting a strong consumer demand. The median number of days on the market for single family homes sold in February 2015 was just 46 days, a decrease of 2.1% compared to the same period in 2014. The average percent of original list price received was 94.6%, down a negligible 0.6% from a year earlier. The median number of days on the market for condominiums sold in February 2015 was 65 days, an increase of 14% compared to the same period in 2014. The average percent of original list price received was 93.3%, a 1.8% decrease. Cash sales in Miami increased relative to last month, but are down compared to the same time period last year. Access to mortgage loans for condominium buyers remains limited. The lack of Federal Housing Administration loans for a large number of existing Miami condominium buildings is preventing further market strengthening. In Miami-Dade County, 58.8% of total closed sales in February 2015 were all cash transactions, up from 57.2% from the previous month. Cash deals in Miami are down relative to February 2014 when 62.5% of transactions were all cash. Miami condominiums comprise a large… Continue reading
UK mortgage lending off to slow start in 2015
Gross mortgage lending in the UK reached £13.4 billion in February, 9% down on both January and on last February, the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show. This is the lowest monthly estimate for gross mortgage lending since April 2013 when lending totalled £12.4 billion. The weaker lending figures have not come as a surprise to the industry. ‘Seasonal factors tend to weigh on activity at the start of the year, but looking through these, the underlying picture appears to be stabilising,’ said CML chief economist Bob Pannell. ‘We expect lending to improve in the coming months, as employment and earnings continue to pick up and the impact of recent stamp duty reforms start to feed through,’ he added. Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, believes that too much should not be read into the data as 2014 was an exceptional year and a formative one with major changes to the borrowing process. He said that 2015 marks a return to more normal patterns of behaviour as the new affordability measures introduced last year become part of the normal market. ‘Lending is only just getting into its stride at the beginning of the year, and it’s also a much longer process from start to finish now, so we’ll see more approvals race through as the market heats up later in the spring,’ he pointed out. ‘Buyer finances emerge much healthier for going through a more rigorous obstacle course. First time buyers have great cause for celebration with the new Help to Buy ISAs, whittled down stamp duty, generous mortgage rates, and plenty of supply on the market. All the elements are at work to up the ante in the housing market in the coming months,’ he added. Continue reading
Seven out of 12 UK regions see rental growth, but not London
After a period of rent price rises in London outstripping the rest of the UK, the disparity between the growth rate of the London and nationwide rental markets is beginning to narrow, the latest index shows. The average rent in the UK is now £899, compared to £889 at the end of January 2015, and £873 in December 2014, according to the HomeLet rental index. It also shows that average rent prices in London have remained static in the three months to February 2015, versus the wider picture of predominantly rising prices. Indeed, seven out of 12 regions in the UK have seen rent prices rise in the three months to February 2015, with the North East and South West of England leading the way at 3.1% and 2.5% price growth respectively. There was also growth in East Anglia, the North West of England, Northern Ireland, the South East of England and Yorkshire and Humber while rental prices have not increased in Greater London and the West Midlands, and have fallen in Wales, the East Midlands and Scotland. Looking solely at new tenancies commencing in the month of February 2015, prices have increased in the month since January 2015 in several regions, with Northern Ireland rising 7.2%, the North East of England 6.2%, the South West of England 4.5% and East Anglia 3.7%. In contrast, rents agreed on new tenancies in London in February 2015 have fallen by 2.5% compared to the previous month. Scotland, the East Midlands and Wales have also seen prices agreed on new tenancies fall in February 2015 compared to January 2015. ‘Last year saw the London rental market outstrip the rest of the UK in terms of rent price growth but what we are seeing so far in 2015 is the private rental market becoming much more broad based with the strongest rent price growth occurring outside of the capital. Other regions of the UK such as the South West of England and East Anglia are maintaining the rises achieved in 2014 and continuing to grow,’ said Martin Totty, chief executive officer of Barbon Insurance Group, parent company of HomeLet. ‘The rent price growth seen in London during much of 2014 now appears to be slowing. However a recent survey we conducted with London letting agents has shown that demand for private rental property remains high and still outstrips supply, with 80% of agents saying there are more tenants than properties available,’ he added. Continue reading
