Tag Archives: news
Average property prices still falling in Spain, but sales are up
Although the recovering in housing sales in Spain continues with transactions up by 1.9% in April, prices are still falling, the latest figures show. The data from the General Council of Notaires shows sales up almost 2% in April but prices down by 3.9% year on year nationally. Overall a total of 30,758 transactions were completed which the council says ‘reflects the stabilisation in monthly sales’. The average price of homes bought in April was €1,188 per square meter with new homes, the data also shows and the number of mortgages available is rising, up 12.3% year on year. Buyers are also able to get higher loans with the average mortgage sixe up 9.2% to €122,119. Meanwhile, the average Spanish home costs €200,000, according to the annual Spanish housing market report from appraisal firm Euroval. But there are considerable regional variations in values. In Barcelona, for example some 54% of homes for sale are offered at less than €254,000, whilst in Madrid 61% of homes for sale cost less than €247,000. While in cities like Alicante, on the Costa Blanca, 58% of homes have a price below €143,000. The Euroval report also looks at what has been happening in the Spanish property market in the last couple of years and shows that sales increased by 21.63% between 2013 and 2014. It also shows a decrease in the number of new homes being sold and the largest numbers of transactions are still taking place in Andalusia, which represents 19.2% of the total volume. When it comes to valuation activity, the firm reports an 11.5% increase in 2014 over the previous year, after eight consecutive years of declines. But this is just 30% of the volume of appraisals which were carried out in 2005. Continue reading
Average price of a home in Auckland reaches new all-time high
The average price of residential property in Auckland, New Zealand, increased to a new all-time high of $822,148 in May, a month on month rise of 2.2%. Indeed, since February prices in the city have now increased by 10% and sales are also strong, according to the latest data from real estate agent Barfoot & Thompson. The data also shows that the median price in May at $750,000, a fall of $3,500, or 0.5% compared to April but since February the median prices has increased by 9.2%. In May sales activity was extremely strong with sales numbers up over those for April by 14.5% and buyers have continued confidence in the market, according to Peter Thompson, managing director of Barfoot & Thompson. ‘Buyers are mindful that prices are at an all-time high, but the combination of a sound economy, low mortgage rates and a housing shortage gives them confidence prices are not on the verge of retreating,’ he added. He pointed out that measures announced in the May Budget had no impact on market activity. ‘If the budget initiatives are to have any influence they are likely to show up in June’s activity,’ he added. With sales in May at 1,225 it was the third month in a row that the firm sold more than 1,000 homes in a month, a milestone that was never achieved in 2014. The firm experienced a major listing drive in April and early May, and through this achieved 1,740 new listings in May, the highest number in a May for eight years. ‘As a consequence of high sales in May by month end we had only 3,060 properties on our books. There have been only two months over the past 16 months when we have ended the month with a lower number of properties,’ said Thompson. Sales of properties for in excess of $1 million attracted strong buyer interest and the firm sold 362 properties in this high end category, the second highest number on record behind March’s 420. However, property sales for under $500,000 at 163 were, for the third consecutive month, below the number of $1 million sales. Continue reading
Research reveals how many people find problems with their home after moving
Some 20% of British people feel that they have compromised when finding a new home with those renting more likely to be unhappy than buyers, new research has found. They feel they like their home less than when they moved in and the reasons include not liking neighbours, finding the property too small and finding the upkeep too much. The poll by AA Home Membership found that 29% discovered a lot of problems after moving in and the same number didn’t get on with their neighbours while 26% confessed they moved in as the property was affordable rather than because they liked it. The research also found that 25% found the property too small after living in it for some time and 21% found it needed too much upkeep while 13% found it no longer suitable as their circumstances had changed. The results also showed some big differences between homeowners and tenants. Some 26% of tenants said they’d grown less fond of their home compared to 17% of home owners. Tenants were more likely to live in homes which had unexpected problems and not get along with their neighbours. Home owners on the other hand, were more likely to struggle with the upkeep of a property and have changing circumstances such as children leaving home which made their property less suitable. The cost of the property was the most commonly re-evaluated aspect cited by 32% and 27% said they had to compromise on either the location or the size of the home they chose. Some 19% moved somewhere that needed more work doing to it than they had originally planned and 18% had fewer bedrooms than they wanted. A quarter of those who made a compromise were unhappy about having to do so. Those aged 18 to 24 were the most fussy with 31% of them saying they made a compromise begrudgingly. ‘It must be quite disheartening to find that your home is not all you hoped it would be. Some issues such as property maintenance and anti-social neighbours may only become apparent over time and may not have been a cause for concern when the householder chose the property,’ said Helen Brooker, head of AA Home Membership. ‘It’s pretty common for people to have to compromise when looking for somewhere to live as after all, not many people can afford their dream home. Even if you find your ideal property, the housing market is so competitive there’s no guarantee you’ll get it,’ she explained. ‘Others, particularly those who are looking for somewhere to live with a partner, may find that they have different tastes and opinions and may find it difficult to agree on what they want,’ she added. Continue reading
