Tag Archives: real estate
New home approvals in Australia reach highest level on record
New home building approvals reached their highest ever monthly level during November, the latest official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show. Approvals for new homes totalled 18,245 in seasonally adjusted terms during November 2014, almost 3% higher than the previous record which was set in August 1994. Overall approvals in November rose by 7.6% on the previous month and were 10.1% higher than 12 months earlier. A breakdown of the figures show that seasonally adjusted new dwelling approvals increased most strongly in Victoria at 19.7%, followed by Tasmania at 8.2. They were up 5.7% in Queensland and 1.2% in Western Australia. A fall of 1.4% in new home approvals was recorded in New South Wales, while approvals were down 16.3% in South Australia. In trend terms, new dwelling approvals increased in the ACT by 3.3% and in the Northern Territory by 2.9%. The Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia’s residential building industry, pointed out that growth has been concentrated in the multi-unit segment of new home building, which rose by 18% in November year on year. Detached house approvals saw growth of 3.6% over the same period. ‘Residential construction was the economy’s good news story during 2014, and today’s figures indicate that we can look forward to another positive year for the industry,’ said HIA senior economist, Shane Garrett. ‘The fact that approvals hit an all-time high during November augers very well for the pipeline of residential construction work in 2015. With weaknesses in several areas of the Australian economy, new home building has come to life at an opportune time,’ he explained. ‘Residential construction is now a central pillar of support for domestic demand in Australia. It is important that policy reform continues in the areas of planning, land supply and removing the taxation burden on new home building. This will form an important part of achieving the necessary rebalancing of the economy,’ he added. Continue reading
Lower end US housing market set to be the best performer in 2015
The lower end of the residential real estate market in the United States is set to outperform other property sectors in 2015. Most housing markets will see declining gains at a national and regional level, but the low tier segment of the market nationally is forecasted to grow at around 3%, according to the latest property report from Clear Capital. The index report shows that in December the low tier segment, that is homes selling for under $95,000, saw double digit gains of 10.4% nationally. But that too is set to slow. The report says the low tier of the Midwest could see growth of 7%, which is more than double that of the national forecast for this segment, and more than 5% ahead of the West at 1.7%. Price growth in the Midwest is expected to outpace the nation on all tiers by 1.6%, nearly double that of the country as a whole in 2015. A cluster of metro areas that are projected to see some of the highest price growth over the next year are also located in the Midwest. Ohio leads the pack with the highest number of metros at the top of the firm’s forecast with predicted price growth in Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland and Cincinnati ranging from 2.2% to 4.5% in 2015. Dayton ended 2014 with gains in median home prices of 16.5% over the year. This is a drastic increase for a metro market that saw a price decrease of 2.3% just a year ago. Cincinnati also showed strong signs of growth at the end of 2014, with median sales price increasing by 9.1% in December, and an increase of 17.2% from 2013. Double digit gains are set to cease. While the West continued to outshine the other three regions with 8.7% growth at the end of 2014, this is more than a 10% drop from where the region ended 2013 with 18.9% growth. T The Midwest followed close behind with 7.7% price growth over the year in December 2014, down just 2.3% from 10.1% a year ago. The South and Northeast finished 2014 with 6% and 2.9% price growth, respectively, with these regions also seeing moderation to price gains from 2013. At the national level, December home price growth ends 2014 at 6.4%, down from 10.9% a year ago, with continued moderation in quarter over quarter gains throughout 2014, ending 2014 at 0.9%. The firm is predicting another wait and see year and expects continued moderation for 2015. ‘A year ago, we forecasted the start of a more mature recovery with year-end gains between 3% to 5% for the nation, and with price appreciation moderation one of the only consistent trends in 2014,’ said Alex Villacorta, vice president of research and analytics at Clear Capital. ‘In 2015, we will see the natural progression of the housing market regressing back to normal rates of growth. Current price trajectories suggest that price growth at the national level will continue to moderate… Continue reading
UK property markets set to see slowing of growth in 2015 says CBRE
UK property sectors are set to continue to expand, in 2015 but the overall trend will be a slowing of growth to more sustainable levels, a new analysis suggests. Prime London markets will continue to grow in 2015, but confidence and investor interest will encourage growth in prime regional markets and secondary housing markets will fare better than in recent years, according to real estate advisor CBRE. It points out that in 2014, total returns to property averaged nearly 20% and in 2015, there will be a slowing of growth rates with average returns just under 13%. The general election in May will bring some uncertainty into property decision making but year on year there is expected to be significant rental growth for most sectors but a further improvement in yields as investment inflows continue into the UK market. Prospects for retail properties remain among the most uncertain, with few sure signs just yet that stable growth is returning to consumer spending, and cost pressures and distractions across the sector, particularly in grocery retailing, although in 2015 as in 2014, prime retail destinations will remain a safe bet, the report explains. Industrial property will continue to be attractive for investors due to a dearth of quality supply but price growth in the housing market will ease in 2015 to around 6% with transaction levels having peaked for the time being. ‘This has been a year of extraordinary expansion across the property sector and while this will continue into 2015, overall there will be a return to more sustainable levels of growth,’ said Miles Gibson, head of UK research, CBRE. ‘Rental growth will continue in all sectors and we expect investment yields to continue to improve as levels of capital flows into the UK market remain high. In terms of where growth, we forecast a ripple effect next year as property investors shift from London out to the regions,’ he explained. ‘Global economic factors, most notably the falling price of crude oil, in 2015 will benefit the UK. The likely effects of pushing down inflation and boosting consumer spending, means we should expect to see a knock on benefit for retailers which in turn could stimulate growth in the retail property sector,’ he added. ‘Although there positive signals for the property market, we recognise that there will be uncertainty caused by the imminent general election. The combination of these trends makes 2015 an intriguing prospect for property markets,’ he concluded. Continue reading
