Tag Archives: housing
Home sales in Canada up 0.8% in first weeks of 2016
National home sales in Canada rose by 0.8% from January to February while average prices were up by 16.4% year on year, the latest index shows. But prices fell in some regions, most notably British Columbia and Ontario with a fall of 1.4%, according to the data from the Canadian Real Estate Association also shows. The number of newly listed homes edged up by 0.5% from January to February and the CREA report says that the Canadian housing market has tightened but remains balanced overall. The monthly increase lifted national sales activity to the highest level since June 2007 but a greater number of local housing markets posted a monthly decline in sales activity than posted a monthly increase. However, the latter accounted for a larger share of national transactions. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Okanagan Region and Fraser Valley made the largest contribution to the monthly increase in national sales activity, offsetting monthly sales declines in Edmonton, Greater Moncton and Montreal. ‘Two of Canada’s hottest housing markets look set to stay that way heading into the spring home buying season. Meanwhile, other major urban markets elsewhere in Canada are well balanced or have ample supply,’ said CREA president Pauline Aunger. Actual, not seasonally adjusted, sales activity rose 18.7% year on year in February, some 12.7% above the 10 year average for the month. Activity increased above year ago levels in about three quarters of all local markets. BC’s Lower Mainland, the GTA and Montreal contributed most to the year on year increase in national activity. Gregory Klump, CREA chief economist pointed out that the number of single family home sales above one million dollars is rising in Greater Vancouver and the GTA. ‘Tightened mortgage regulations apply to homes selling above $500,000 and below a million dollars. The tighter regulations combined with a short supply of single family homes will restrain transactions below one million dollars,’ he explained. ‘If recent trends continue, home sales above one million dollars will account for a greater share of activity and will further fuel year on year average price increases in these markets. Meanwhile, price growth will remain more modest in other housing markets that don’t have an ongoing or developing supply shortage like the kind we’re seeing in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia or around the GTA,’ Klump added. The number of newly listed homes edged up 0.5% in February 2016 compared to January. The rise in new listings in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, York and Mississauga Regions of the GTA and Hamilton-Burlington helped to push the national figure higher. Monthly increases in new listings in these housing markets were offset by monthly declines in Central Toronto, Calgary and Montreal. The national sales to new listings ratio rose to 59.5% in February 2016 versus 59.3% the previous month. This marks the ratio’s highest reading since November 2009. A sales to new listings ratio between 40% and 60% is generally consistent with balanced housing market… Continue reading
Pilot programme underway in UK for new homes on derelict and underused land
Pioneering councils are to help lead the way in bringing forward derelict and underused land for new homes in the UK, it has been announced. Some 73 councils across England will pilot one of the new brownfield registers, which will provide house builders with up to date and publicly available information on all brownfield sites available for housing locally. According to Communities Secretary Greg Clark the registers will help house builders identify suitable sites quickly, speeding up the construction of new homes and they will also allow communities to draw attention to local sites for listing, including in some cases derelict buildings and eyesores that are primed for redevelopment and that could attract investment to the area. The government has pledged one million more homes and to get planning permission in place on 90% of suitable brownfield sites for housing. This move ramps up the brownfield land building commitment. ‘A key part of our ambition to build a million homes is to get work started on brownfield sites across the country, many of which are currently nothing more than blight on a community’s landscape,’ said Clark. ‘These councils will be at the forefront of these efforts to list land and encourage builders to deliver new homes for aspiring home owners. But this is just the first step and I would urge councils to continue to offer up brownfield sites to deliver the homes their residents want and need,’ he added. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis explained that the councils taking part in the brownfield pilots will inform future government policy and guidance on the operation of the brownfield registers. ‘Registers will eventually become mandatory for all councils under proposals going through Parliament in the Housing and Planning Bill,’ he said, adding that other measures in the Housing and Planning Bill will enable ‘permission in principle’ to be granted for housing led development sites listed on the new brownfield registers. ‘This will mean developers building new homes on brownfield land will have a greater degree of certainty in relation to location, use and the amount of development,’ he explained. Each council agreeing to be part of the pilot project will receive £10,000 government funding to help the establishment of their brownfield registers. The 15 councils with the most brownfield land taking part in the brownfield register pilot project are: Cherwell, County Durham, Huntingdonshire, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Medway, Newcastle upon Tyne, Peterborough, Selby, Sheffield, South Cambridgeshire, Sunderland, Tonbridge and Malling and Wigan. These have the most brownfield land in England, as identified in the final complete publication of National Land Use Database statistics. A further 36 areas made up of 58 councils (some bids are joint) were selected on a competitive basis. Continue reading
London to get another 11 new housing zones
The Mayor of London has announced 11 new Housing Zones that will provide 24,554 new homes and create new neighbourhoods across the capital. An additional £200 million has been designated to the final 11 zones, which stretch from Havering to Kingston and Enfield and bring the total number planned in London to 31 which will see 77,000 new homes built. The aim is to boost housing supply, stimulate building and produce the new low cost homes London needs to meet its growing population. Some 34% of the 77,000 new homes will be affordable, alongside transformational regeneration of key town centres, train station hubs and housing estates. The Mayor made the announcement as he officially opened a new affordable housing development in the heart of London's West End. Trenchard House, spanning across Broadwick and Hopkins Street, is a former derelict Metropolitan Police hostel, on Greater London Authority acquired land released by the Mayor. The site has undergone a £54 million redevelopment to build 78 new homes, including 65 affordable one to three bedroom apartments. The affordable apartments are intermediate rent with some offered at 75% discount to market rates. Exact rents are based on resident's incomes, and many of them work night shifts in the theatres and bars surrounding Soho and will now be within walking distance of their jobs. The site, which had lain vacant for almost 13 years, is one of the 414 hectares of land transferred to the Mayor with every surplus site owned by City Hall now released for development. The intermediate homes are part of the 100,000 affordable homes the Mayor is on track to deliver by the end of his term. ‘Meeting the unprecedented demand for housing after 30 years of historic failure to build new homes is a critical issue affecting the capital. That is why I have led an enormous programme of regeneration with my 31 housing zones that will transform communities across London, creating nearly 80,000 new homes, plus new transport hubs and schools,’ said Johnson. ‘This new housing development in the heart of the West End is delivering a life line to hard working local people who were priced out of Soho and desperate to reside nearby their places of work. These apartments are just some of the 100,000 new affordable homes being delivered over my two mayoral terms,’ he explained. ‘This site forms part of more than 400 hectares of developable land the GLA inherited and which I have now released every inch of, to ensure as many homes as possible are built throughout London,’ he added. As part of the Mayor's commitment to double house building, London's Housing Zones will unlock regeneration on hundreds of hectares of brownfield land across the capital. The special status has been awarded to areas identified and packaged up by local authorities. It removes all unnecessary planning restrictions, combined with the funds to maximise development, and fast track homes and supporting infrastructure. Continue reading
