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Number of people moving home in UK falls in first half of 2015
The number of home movers in the UK in the first six months of 2015 was 9% lower than in the same period in 2014, new research has found. Despite this decline, the number of movers in the first half of 2015 was 32% higher than in the same period in 2009 at the depth of the housing market recession, according to the latest Lloyds Bank home movers review. It explains that the rise in house prices over the past few years has boosted home owners’ equity in their current homes making it easier for them to fund a deposit towards the purchase of their next property. Notwithstanding the improvement since 2009, the number of home movers in the first half of this year was less than half the total in the first six months of 2007 when it was 327,600. The research also shows that the percentage decline in the number of home movers between the first halves of 2014 and 2015 was closely in line with the 10% fall in first time buyers. First time buyer numbers have, however, risen significantly more quickly than home movers over the last few years. As a result, home movers have declined as a proportion of all new mortgage financed home purchasers from 72% in 2004 to 54% in 2015. ‘There was a modest decline in the number of home movers in the first half of the year compared with 2014, which was in line with the general softening in housing market activity,’ said Andrew Mason, Lloyds Bank mortgages director. ‘Whilst the number of home movers has risen significantly since 2009, it remains well below previous levels and has recovered less strongly than first time buyer numbers. This is likely to partly reflect the high costs associated with moving home, as well as highlighting the difficulties that homeowners can face in finding somewhere suitable to move to due to the shortage of properties available for sale,’ he added. The figures show that the average price paid by a home mover has grown by 25% over the past five years from £208,654 in 2010 to £261,524 in 2015, an increase of £52,869, equivalent to a monthly rise of £881. Home mover property prices have increased by 6%over the past year. The average deposit put down by a home mover in 2015 was £87,954, some 8% higher than in 2014 or £81,549. This equates to 34% of the average price paid by home movers of £261,524. Regionally, home movers in London put down the largest average deposit at £175,273 or 36% of the average property value of £492,882. This is more than four times the average deposit put down by home movers in Northern Ireland where it was £43,625 and the lowest. Nationally, the recent changes to the Stamp Duty system have saved the average home mover £4,769, reducing the tax bill for someone buying the average priced home mover property of £261,524 from £7,845 to… Continue reading
Homes in Australia are less affordable, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne
Homes in Australia are less affordable but there are wide variations across the country with price growth having an effect in some locations. The latest affordability index from the Housing Industry Association (HIA) fell by 2.9% in the June quarter to 79.7 as an interest rate cut was negated by house prices rising and sluggish earnings growth. HIA chief economist Harley Dale said that during the second quarter of 2015 affordability deteriorated by 3.6% in capital city markets, driven by Sydney and Melbourne and described this as ‘a stark contrast’ to a 2.7% improvement for regional Australia. Compared to the second quarter last year, capital city affordability worsened by 0.6% while in regional Australia affordability saw a 5.2% improvement. ‘The large differences in the results for the capital city Affordability Index and its regional counterpart, together with the variation in outcomes between capital cities, exposes the folly of sweeping generalisations which refer to an Australian housing boom,’ said Dale. ‘That is simply not what is occurring. ‘In many parts of Australia the extremely low interest rate environment is delivering historically favourable affordability conditions. It is against this backdrop that authorities have escalated their requirements for the rationing of credit to residential investors. The risk is that this will obstruct new housing supply, aggravating affordability conditions in markets around Australia,’ he added. Meanwhile the latest HIA new home sales report, a survey of Australia’s largest volume builders, recorded its fifth rise in six months in June 2015. Total seasonally adjusted new home sales increased by 0.5%. Dale said that detached houses drove the modest increase in new home sales in June this year, with a 1.7% rise offsetting a 2.9% decline in the sale of multi-units and New South Wales and Victoria continue to display upward momentum in detached house sales, but the other three mainland states are heading in the opposite direction. A breakdown of the figures shows that detached house sales increased by 3.5% in New South Wales, by 1.5% in Victoria, and by 4.2% in Queensland. Detached house sales fell by 2% in South Australia while in Western Australia sales eased by 0.9%. Detached house sales increased by 7.9% in New South Wales and 0.6% in Victoria while quarterly sales fell by 7% in Queensland, 10.2% in South Australia and 3.1% in Western Australia. Continue reading
Portuguese residential property market recovery ongoing
The residential real estate market in Portugal is seeing an ongoing steady recovery in prices, supported by rising demand and increasingly strong growth in sales activity, according to the latest index. While the lettings market has seen rents stable for a fourth month in succession following years of persistent decline, the index survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Confidencial Imobiliário shows. The data also shows that new buyer interest continued to rise at a firm pace across all regional markets, with growth particularly pronounced in Porto during June. But the market is still open to the weakness of the euro zone, particularly Greece. At the same time, newly agreed sales increased at the sharpest monthly pace since the survey was launched back in 2010, and have now risen continuously for around a year and a half. Going forward, sales expectations are pointing to further robust growth in the near term, even if the net balance eased slightly from the record high set in May. Given the sustained improvement in both enquiries and sales, prices continued to recover for a sixth month in succession, the index report explains. It also points out that the pace of house price growth accelerated a notch, driven primarily by the strong gains posted in Lisbon and looking ahead, near term price expectations continue to point to a stronger pick-up on the horizon. Over the next 12 months, respondents are now anticipating prices will rise by 2.7% at the national level. Again, the strongest recovery is anticipated to come in Lisbon and the Algarve at around 3%, while projections are for 2% growth in Porto. The national confidence indicator, an amalgamation of near term price and sales expectations, now stands at +36 equalling the third highest reading on record, despite easing compared to May’s exceptionally strong result. In the lettings market, solid growth in demand continues to be met with a decline in the number of new listings by landlords. As a result, rents remained more or less unchanged for a fourth consecutive month, while expectations suggest a further period of stability lies ahead. ‘It is important to see the Portuguese market’s resilience in the face of the uncertainty caused by the Greek crisis,’ said Ricardo Guimarães, Director of Ci. ‘Risks were highlighted by the agents but, nevertheless, activity indicators remained clearly positive, regarding both sales and prices. This was a critical test for the market, reinforcing its potential,’ he added. RICS chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn, believes that the recovery in sales market activity appears to be gathering momentum, driven by improving economic fundamentals and rising confidence. ‘However, significant risks remain within the euro area which could damage sentiment if a resolution is not found,’ he warned. Continue reading
