Tag Archives: real estate
Two tier house prices growth continues in Australia led by Sydney and Melbourne
The two tiered growth evident across Australia’s housing markets continued in July with Sydney and Melbourne driving home values higher, the latest monthly index shows. The CoreLogic RP Data Home Value Index increased by 2.8% month on month and 11.1% year on year and the total aggregated value of Australian housing increased by just over half a trillion dollars over the past 12 months to $6 trillion. Melbourne has traded places with Sydney to record the highest rate of capital gain, with values in the city up 6.1% over the three months ending in July, the highest rolling quarterly rate of growth since the three months ending August last year when values grew 6.4%. Growth in Sydney wasn’t quite as strong over the rolling quarter, up 5.4% but still the highest rate of growth since the March quarter this year when it was 5.8%. ‘To date, the capital cities have seen remarkable differences over the growth cycle which broadly commenced at the end of May 2012 and since that time dwelling values across our combined capitals index have increased by 30.4%,’ said Tim Lawless, CoreLogic RP Data’s head of research. Sydney values are 47.9% higher over the current cycle and Melbourne values are 32.1% higher while every other capital city has seen growth of less than 13% over the same period. Lawless explained that this highlights the extent to which the Sydney and Melbourne markets have outperformed other markets over the past three years. He pointed out that over the last year several cities have seen price corrections. Darwin has seen values falling the most, down by 5.3% while in Perth values also drifted lower over the year, down 0.3%. At the same time, the annual rate of capital gain in Sydney reached a new cyclical high with home values moving 18.4% higher over the year to the highest annual rate of growth for Sydney since the 12 months ending in December 2002. The strongest growth conditions outside of Sydney and Melbourne have been in Brisbane where dwelling values were 3.9% higher over the year. Based on the median dwelling price, Sydney prices are now 72% higher than Brisbane’s and Melbourne’s are 24% higher. Detached housing continued to outperform the unit sector, with house values substantially outperforming unit values over the past year apart from Hobart and Darwin. Detached home values are up 11.6% compared with a 7.2% increase in unit values over the past year. The differential is most pronounced in Melbourne where house values have surged 12.3% higher over the year compared with a 4.8% rise in unit values. ‘The higher growth rates for houses compared with units is likely to be supply related, with the underlying land component driving detached housing values higher at a time when new apartment supply has seen a substantial boost from new construction,’ Lawless said. While dwelling values continue to rise across most cities, the pace of rental growth has slipped to a new record low, which has… Continue reading
English landlords who don’t follow new immigration checks face jail
Landlords in England who repeatedly fail to check a new tenant’s immigration status before agreeing a lease could face up to five years in jail, it has been confirmed. As part of a wider crackdown on immigration, new rules for landlords mean that they will also be expected to evict tenants who lose the right to live in England. They will be able to end tenancies, sometimes without a court order, when asylum requests fail, according to Communities Secretary Greg Clark as he announced that the government will not tolerate rogue landlords who make money out of illegal immigration. The changes which hare part of the new Immigration Bill and follow a pilot in the West Midlands come as the British and French governments struggle to deal with a migrant crisis in Calais where large numbers of people are making nightly bids to cross the Channel to reach the UK. Clark explained that under the proposals for landlords in England, the Home Office would issue a notice when an asylum application fails that confirms the tenant no longer has the right to rent property. He also said that a blacklist of rogue landlords and letting agents will be created to allow councils to keep track of those who have been convicted of housing offences and ban them from renting out properties if they are repeat offenders. Richard Lambert, chief executive of the National Landlords Association, described the proposals as a welcome step forward, although he said he is ‘slightly concerned’ that the 40 year old principle that it has to be a court that ends a tenancy is changing. He suggests that there is a danger that those being evicted end up doing something desperate such as barricading themselves inside a property. ‘I think that we need to think through the consequences of the kind of systems we are putting into place,’ he added. David Cox, managing director, Association of Residential Letting Agents, welcomed the proposals in principle. ‘The plans will help to weed out the minority of rogue landlords who exploit vulnerable immigrants for their own financial gain and, with the introduction of a new five year imprisonment penalty, will help to deter other such unscrupulous individuals from entering the private rented sector,’ he said. ‘The proposals also build upon the Right to Rent checks as imposed by the Immigration Act 2014, which we expect to be rolled out nationally following a pilot scheme in the West Midlands. We will be organising training sessions for our members to ensure they are fully prepared and understand the new rules and we urge all letting agents to ensure they are ready for the impending roll out,’ he added. Continue reading
Prime central London sales up but still 32% down on a year ago
Sales in the prime central London property market increased by 21% in the second quarter of 2015 compared to the previous quarter but are 32% lower than a year ago, according to the latest quarterly data. Prices have fallen marginally, down 0.6% in the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year, according to the latest prime central London report from real estate firm JLL. But it explains that the sales market continues to show resilience and, although cautious, demand has recovered somewhat since the slump before the general election in May. But the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) reform continues to have an effect on the market and buyers and sellers are still assessing the impact of these changes, particularly in the £5 million to £10 million price range. Meanwhile, the sub £2 million market has been the least affected by the election, SDLT, and mansion tax fears with prices rising 2.2% year on year. ‘While transaction levels remain low, particularly in the £3 million to £7 million sector of the prime central London market, there is undoubtedly a noticeable flight to quality,’ said Richard Barber, sales director at W.A.Ellis, part of the JLL Group . ‘Affordability issues, in the face of increased stamp duty costs, have affected purchaser confidence, but high prices per square foot are still being achieved for the most exclusive properties,’ he added. The prime central London lettings market has seen a rise in demand from tenants, while levels of supply have remained high throughout the second quarter, the report also shows. It says that London’s improved economic conditions are causing a rise in rental values, up 1% compared to the first quarter and 1.5% year on year. Overall, lettings transactions have increased by 4% in the second quarter as election uncertainties resulted in some buyers choosing to rent instead. However transactions are down 8% year on year. ‘There has been an increase in rental stock available, mainly as a result of landlords awaiting the outcome of the general election and deciding now to let instead of sell, and these higher stock levels have meant that competition between landlords has increased with properties in optimal condition letting first,’ said Lucy Morton, letting director and head of agency at W.A.Ellis. ‘This has also meant that the market has become very price sensitive with more people turning to the rental sector after being unable to secure finance or find the right property to buy,’ she added. The report concludes that overall, the outlook for the prime central sales market is one of confidence in light of the stable government and low interest rates, with prices expected to increase by 1.5% during 2015, while the lettings market will see rental values increase by around 3% with more people preferring the flexibility of renting. Continue reading
