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Housing affordability falls in the United States
Housing affordability at a national level in the United States is down from a year ago and is struggling to keep pace with the growth of home prices, according to new research. The analysis from the National Association of Realtors shows that housing affordability is down from a year ago in June as the median price for a single family home in the US is up from a year ago. Regionally, the West had the biggest increase in price at 10% while the Northeast experienced the slowest price growth at 4.4%. The Midwest and the South both contributed solid price gains of 7.2%. Nationally, affordability is down from 155.2 in June 2014 to 153.1 in June 2015 and down month on month in all regions. The Midwest had the largest drop of 4.8% while the West fell only 3.5%. From one year ago, affordability is down in all regions except the Northeast which had an increase of 1.1%. The West saw the biggest decline in affordability at 3.6% and the Midwest had the smallest decline of 0.7%. Despite month to month changes, the most affordable region is the Midwest where the index is 191.1. The index is 161.4 in the South, 150.7 in the Northeast, and 113.9 in the West. With rates on the rise potential home buyers may try to hasten their search and purchase process. Lending options with low down payments are now more widely available. Mortgage applications are currently up but demand may level off if prices and rates continue to increase, the report explains. It also points out that new home construction has favoured the multifamily inventory stock while single family homes have been lagging in production. An increase in single family construction will help ease the inventory shortage issue and slow down price growth, it suggests. Continue reading
UK households positive about property market, latest sentiment index shows
Households in all regions of the UK perceived that the value of their home rose in August, and at a faster pace than in July, according to the latest house sentiment index. It is the first rise in the index from Knight Frank and Markit Economics in the month of August, which is typically a quieter summer period, since 2009. The index, regarded as a bellwether for house price growth across the country, says that it reflects the upward pressure on house prices due to a lack of sock across the residential property market. Households in all UK regions expect house prices to rise over the next 12 months, although the rate of expected increases eased in many regions including London and the South East and some 6.6% of households expect to buy a home over the next 12 months, up from 5.3% in the previous month and the joint highest since July 2014. Some 23.6% of the 1,500 households surveyed across the UK said that the value of their home had risen over the last month, the second highest reading since October last year. Just over 4% said that prices had fallen, resulting in a HPSI reading of 59.5. This is the twenty ninth consecutive month that the reading has been above 50. Any figure over 50 indicates that prices are rising, and the higher the figure, the steeper the increase. Any figure below 50 indicates that prices are falling. August’s reading marked a rise from the 58.6 recorded in July, and while matching June’s reading, it remains well below the record high of 63.2 achieved in May last year. Households in all 11 regions reported that prices rose in May, with those in the South East at 64.3 reporting the biggest rise. This is only the second time in the last four years that the perceived increase in South East prices has outstripped that in London. In fact, the reading for London eased notably after a spike in July, dipping from 69.6 to 63.4, the second largest monthly drop since late 2010. While Londoners still perceive that prices are rising, they are reporting that the pace of increases has eased. Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, pointed out that UK house price sentiment has now strengthened considerably from the year and a half low reached in February. ‘While still below the high water mark reached last May, the latest survey indicates that perceptions of rising property values are more widespread than at any time seen during the five years leading up to 2014,’ he said. ‘The uptick confounds the usual seasonal summer lull and comes in spite of heightened expectations of a Bank of England rate rise next year. In particular, August’s spike in current price perceptions across the South of England suggests that an acute shortage of supply remains the major factor driving up property values,’ he explained. ‘Looking ahead, the prospect of a rate hike next year does appear… Continue reading
UK housing demand reaches 11 year high
Housing demand in the UK continues to growth, reaching an eleven year high in August, according to the latest monthly report from the National Association of Estate Agents. The number of house hunters registered per branch continued to grow this month, up 5%, to an average of 462 per branch compared to 439 in July. This is the highest recorded since August 2004, when an average 582 house hunters were recorded per NAEA branch. Available housing also increased in July, jumping 25% from an average of 44 properties available per NAEA member branch in June, to 55 in July. These levels have not been seen in almost two years, when 57 houses on average per branch were recorded in September 2013. However, the number of sales made in July remained static from May and June, with just nine per branch, indicating that although housing stock is starting to increase, it remains a struggle to complete a purchase. The July Housing Market Report also reveals that the number of sales made to first time buyers continued to fall in July, with the group now accounting for just 23% sales. This has fallen from 24% in June and 29% in May. However, it is an increase on last year, when only 20% of sales were made to first time buyers in July 2014. ‘Typically, we’d expect to see sales taking longer to complete during the summer months, as buyers and sellers are on holiday. It is alarming however, that the number of sales being made to first time buyers is steadily falling,’ said Mark Hayward, NAEA managing director. ‘Having said that, the fact that there is more housing coming on to the market means that hopefully over the next few months we’ll see activity in the market increasing and more sales completing, to respond to the growing army of house hunters we’ve seen emerging over the last few months,’ he pointed out. ‘The truth of the matter is though, there simply aren’t enough houses to meet growing demand, and until we see more physical bricks and mortar, there may be no hope in solving the housing crisis,’ he explained. ‘It’s also alarming that the number of sales being made to first time buyers is steadily falling; with reports of house prices increasing and expectations of rising in the future, first time buyers will continue to be pushed out of the market,’ he added. Continue reading
