Tag Archives: london
House sales falling in Canada, latest data shows
House sales in Canada are falling nationally, seeing the first monthly fall since the beginning of the year, according to the latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). The figures reveal that national home sales fell 1.4% from August to September but actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 10.6% above September 2013 levels. The data also shows that the number of newly listed homes declined by 1.6% from August to September and the national average sale price rose 5.9% on a year on year basis in September. A breakdown of the figures show that activity was down in about 60% of all local housing markets in September, led by monthly declines in Calgary, Edmonton, Central Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, London and St. Thomas, Windsor-Essex, and Ottawa. Home sales rose on a month on month basis in Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, the Okanagan region, Mississauga, Durham and York regions of the Greater Toronto Area, Sherbrooke, and the Northern region of Nova Scotia. ‘Affordably priced single family homes are in short supply in some of Canada’s hottest housing markets, which contributed to the monthly decline in national sales activity in September,’ said CREA president Beth Crosbie. ‘That said, there are other markets with ample supply but sellers there are holding firm on price. There is a lot of variation in housing market trends depending on the type of housing, neighbourhood and price segment,’ she added. September sales were up from year ago levels in about 80% of all local markets, led by Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, the Okanagan region, Calgary, Greater Toronto and Montreal. The increase reflects activity in September 2013 that was handicapped by the occurrence of five Sundays, since that day is the lowest volume trading day for home sales. Sales activity for the year to date in September was 5% above where it stood in the first nine months of 2013, and remains broadly in line with the 10 year average for the period. The number of newly listed homes declined by 1.6% in September compared to August. New supply was down in just over half of all local markets, led by Calgary, Edmonton, Greater Toronto, Kingston and Ottawa. 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 5.9 months of inventory nationally at the end of September 2014, up slightly from 5.8 months in August and slightly below the six months reported in May, June and July. Price growth has been steady at about five to 5.5% since the beginning of the year and year on year price growth accelerated slightly for two storey single family homes and slowed further for apartment units. Price gains for one storey single family homes and townhouse/row units were little changed compared to August. Two storey single family homes continue to post the biggest year on year price gains with… Continue reading
Average asking prices in UK stabilise in third quarter of 2014
Average asking prices in the UK residential market stabilised in the third quarter of 2014 after nine months of consistent growth, according to the latest figures. The average asking price rose by just 0.85% in the quarter but despite this small increase, the average asking price was the highest on record at £265,545. Unusually, the Greater London market was subdued in the third quarter of the year as it tempered following the huge growth recorded in the first half of 2014, according to the data from Move with Us. The region, surprisingly, wasn’t the strongest performing in the third quarter, seeing the fourth largest percentage growth in Britain at just 1.03%. A moderate rise in the average asking price combined with lengthening selling times indicated average asking prices in the Capital may have settled at £466,147 for the time being. The East Midlands saw the highest percentage growth in the average asking price, which reached £192,787 in the third quarter. This rise is, however, still relatively small at 1.36%. The average asking price dipped in just two regions in a quarterly comparison, in the North East by 0.10% to £154,073 and in Scotland by 0.22% to £161,937. Despite this quarterly drop, the average asking price in both regions grew marginally in a yearly comparison demonstrating stability. ‘The last three months have signalled a shift from the first half of the year, with average asking prices stabilising in most British regions after months of consecutive growth.’ said Robin King, director, Move with Us. ‘However, this didn’t stop prices hitting the highest figure on record with an average asking price £265,545 for Great Britain. In the Capital the market experienced an uncharacteristic slowdown in the third quarter of 2014 and for the first time in years didn’t have the highest percentage increase in the average asking price,’ he added. A breakdown of the figures show that despite expectation of strong price increases expected for the Greater London market, the average asking price levelled in the third quarter for the first time since November 2012, finishing the quarter at £466,147. Year on year, however, the average asking price in the region has increased £87,636 or 18.8%. The average asking price in the South West peaked at a record high of £282,093 in July. It then adjusted downwards slightly and stabilised in August and September, sustaining the increases seen in the second quarter of 2014. By the end of the third quarter the average asking price in the region was £281,985, just £1,043 or 0.37% higher than the second quarter of 2014. In the South East, the market experienced a slight downward adjustment in August, despite a growth of £11,144 between April and July. This is not unexpected on the back of such strong price increases. By September, prices were rising once more albeit at a slower pace in the region and at the end of the third quarter the average asking price in the area was £344,414, the highest on record. This… Continue reading
Million pound plus home sales reach record high in the UK
The number of property sales worth at least a million pounds in the UK is at a record high, according to latest research from Lloyds Bank. There were 6,143 million pound property sales in the country in the first half of 2014 which is equivalent to 33 transactions everyday over the period. The 6,143 million pound property sales in the first half of the year represented a 46% increase compared to the same period in 2013 when sales totalled 4,198. Indeed, million pound home sales have grown by 345% since the first half of 2009, when sales in this market segment were at their lowest point in the past decade. However, while million pound home sales outperform the rest of the market, they are still a very small share of the overall market. The 46% increase in million pound home sales in the first half of the year significantly outpaced the 26% increase in the sale of properties below a million pounds over the period. Despite this large increase, the sale of million pound properties accounts for just 1.3% of all national residential sales although this share has more than doubled since 2009. But even in London, million pound sales account for just 7.6% of all sales. There were 1,360 homes sold for at least two million pounds in the first half of 2014, some 43% higher than over the first six months of 2013 when the number of sales totalled 949. Homes selling for at least two million pounds accounted for 22% of all million pound plus home sales in the first half of 2014. This proportion had edged down marginally from 23% in the same period a year earlier. As a proportion of all sales, homes sold for over two million pounds account for just 0.22%. Some 70% or 4,259 of all million pound home sales in Britain during the first half of 2014 were in London. The capital is followed by the South East with a share of 16% or 1,096 and the East of England at 6% or 109. All regions have recorded an increase in sales in 2014 compared to the same period a year earlier. The largest percentage rises in million pound home sales were in the North East with a rise of 150%, the West Midlands with an increase of 100%, South West up 87% and the East Midlands up 80%. In the two regions with the largest concentration of million pound sales, London and the South East, transactions rose by 47% and 41% respectively. The research also shows that close to a quarter of all million pound homes sold in Britain during the first half of 2014 were in the prime property locations of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster at 13% and 10% respectively. Cheshire East and the City of Edinburgh recorded the highest number of million pound sales outside southern England. ‘The number of homes sold for at least a £1 million is at a record high, with this sector… Continue reading
