Tag Archives: housing
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
Data shows foreign buyers are back in the Spanish property market
The number of international buyers back in the Spanish property market is rising with British people now representing almost 20% of foreign sales, new data shows. In absolute terms, the number of purchases by foreigners is increasing to over 42,000 in a year with close to 11,000 transactions quarterly, and over 42,000 in a year. According to figures from the Ministry of Public Works sales to foreign residents in Spain increased year on year in the latest quarter by 17.2%, the 16th quarter on a row of growth to this sector of buyers. The nationality with the greatest volume of home purchases is the British, amounting to 19.8%, and it is suggested that this is due to the UK’s economic recovery and currency rates which give buyers more euros to the pound. French buyers accounted for 8.1% of sales to foreigners, Germans 7.6%, Belgians 6.4%, the Swedish some 5.5% and Italians 5.3%. But sales to Russian buyers have dropped from 9% during 2012 and 2013 to less than 4% currently, and this is likely due to the fall of the rouble and the price of oil. Asian buyers still only account for a small percentage of sales. Quarter on quarter sales to foreign non-residents reached 17,307 while sales to foreigners who are not residents increased by 5% to 1,244 transactions. A rise in foreign demand has also been recorded by the Association of Registrars whose latest data suggests that while there was a slight decline in the first quarter of the year, in the second quarter sales reached 12.8% of the total home transactions. In the first half of the year, foreign home buyers accounted for between a third and a quarter of all the home purchases in some regions. For example, in the Balearic Islands, some 33.5% of all the home purchases in the second quarter were made by international buyers, while in the Canary Islands they accounted for 27.5%, and in Valencia some 25.7% of all transactions. The regions of Murcia, Andalucía and Catalonia recorded percentages of home purchases by international buyers of between 12% and 15%, while in Madrid they accounted for only 4.7% of sales. The data also shows that in Aragón foreigners bought 4.5% of homes, in La Rioja it was 2.8%, in Navarra 2.3%, in Asturias and Cantabria 1.9%, in Castilla-La Mancha 1.8%, in the Basque Country 1.7%, in Castilla y León 1.1%, in Galicia 0.6% and in Extremadura just 0.4%. Meanwhile, the latest house price data suggest the housing market in stable with average national prices down by just 0.8% in the 12 months to the end of September, according to data from appraisal company Tinsa. A second set of figures from Idealista suggests year on year property prices fell 1.6% to a national average of €1,574 per square meter. According to Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insight, these latest figures back an overall trend of stabilisation in the country’s real estate market. But he is sceptical about official figures from… Continue reading
Lack of resources in councils holding up major planning applications
Major new planning applications in English cities are taking well over six months to determine due to a lack of resources, new research suggests. Both developers and local authorities have identified a lack of resource within planning departments as a key barrier to development. The majority of developers believe higher planning fees might be part of a potential solution, helping local authorities shorten waiting times and improve performance. The average submission to determination time for a major planning application is 32 weeks across London, Greater Manchester and Bristol and the surrounding area, over double the government target of 13 weeks. In addition to this, and despite a worsening housing crisis, the overall volume of major applications determined in London fell by 26%, according to the fourth Annual Planning Survey from the British Property Federation and GL Hearn, part of Capita plc. Both public and private sector respondents to the survey expressed concern with the lack of resources available to local planning authorities. Some 55% of local authorities say under resourcing is a significant challenge and 50% believe the planning system is not operating as well as it was in 2010. Also a significant 75% of applicants are dissatisfied with the length of time a planning application takes, up from 71% last year. The survey found that 65% of applicants would be happy to pay more if it would shorten determination times. The details of the research shows that in London, the average submission to determination time is 34 weeks, some six weeks longer than last year’s study but a modest improvement from 2011/2012 when it stood at 37 weeks. The average submission to determination time is 27 weeks in both Greater Manchester, Bristol and the surrounding area. The volume of major planning applications determined has fallen by 26% in London, increased by 19% in Manchester, and stayed the same in Bristol and the surrounding area. In line with diminishing land opportunities in the capital, densification is a more prevalent priority for applicants in London at 47% compared to applicants in the North West at 14%. ‘In order to get Britain building again, we need to get Britain planning. Development activity is critical for our economy, not least in order to tackle the urgent housing crisis. This year’s Annual Planning Survey shows that the planning system needs investment and that requires action across the board,’ said Shaun Andrews, GL Hearn’s head of investor and developer planning. ‘We need to ensure that planning authorities have the right people with the right skills and powers in place to drive forward a growth agenda and that the system is able to release the right resources when it’s needed. For their part, developers need to speak with a single voice and make it clear what levels of service they need and how much they are prepared to pay for it,’ he pointed out. ‘There is… Continue reading
