Tag Archives: real-estate
Underlying trend shows house price quarterly slowdown in UK
UK house prices in the third quarter of 2015 were 8.6% higher than in the same three months a year earlier and up 2% quarter on quarter, according to the latest residential index. However, the quarterly rate of growth fell from August’s 3%, to its lowest since May and the annual figure was lower than the 9% recorded in August, the date from leading lender The Halifax shows. The index report says that the movements are in line with the average so far this year and points out that monthly data can be volatile and the quarter on quarter change is a more reliable indicator of the underlying trend. Separate research shows that there has been a 60% increase in the average price of a flat over the past 10 years, significantly higher than the 38% rise for all residential properties. Detached homes with growth of 21% and bungalows at 28% have recorded the smallest rises over the last decade. ‘Housing demand has been strengthening recently, underpinned by economic growth, rising real earnings and very low mortgage rates,’ said Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist. ‘Increasing demand is combining with very low supply to drive robust underlying house price growth. There is little reason to expect any fundamental shift in the key market drivers over the coming months,’ he added. Continue reading
UK govt to change planning rules to free land for new homes
Planning rules on brownfield sites in the UK are being removed to free up land for development with more homes being built for first time buyers, the government has announced. The housing budget is to be directed towards new low cost homes for sale for first time buyers and housing association tenants are to be given the right to buy, Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed. He also announced that the government will bring forward sales of land, buildings and other assets the government bought or built, raising up to £5 billion over the course of this Parliament with the funds from these sales being recycled to help fund new infrastructure projects. Osborne added that a new independent National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) is being created charged with offering unbiased analysis of the UK’s long term infrastructure needs. The NIC will begin work immediately with Lord Andrew Adonis as its first chairman. It is likely that up to 40 towns and cities in southern England could be doubled in size to deal with the country’s housing crisis as Lord Adonis has spoken about bold initiatives needed to deliver the huge number of new homes required. He is known to favour the idea of building a new generation of garden cities or garden extensions to existing towns. Indeed, in an article written just weeks before his appointment, he said central government should intervene to massively extend towns including Guildford, Norwich, Reading, Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon. He is also known to back the idea of a new requirement on local authorities to use more of its public land for housing. His vision is likely to be bold and include central and local government leading development in partnership with the private and voluntary sectors. Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, welcomed the announcements. ‘In order to create places where people will live as well as work, we would hope to see discussion as to whether large scale housing schemes could be considered within significant infrastructure projects. This would enable the development industry to deliver a large number of homes, quickly,’ she said. Continue reading
More foreign developers are entering the Australian apartment market
Foreign buyers are fuelling higher density development sites sales across major Australian cities, according to a new analysis report. As state governments have encouraged higher density living by re-zoning key sites around infrastructure hubs, opportunities for developers have been ample over recent years, according to the report from Knight Frank. With the outlook for the Australian Dollar lower than originally forecast, more foreign developers are now taking this opportunity to enter the Australian market, it adds. Sales of major sites likely for higher density residential development in the four major capital cities of Australia totalled $7.30 billion in the year ending August 2015, down 5.7% on the previous year’s volume. However, Greater Sydney is still experiencing upward growth in sales volume, although the prior steep upward trajectory achieved in the year to 31 August 2014 is flattening out. A total $4.61 billion sales were recorded over the year to August 2015, when almost 63%, by value, was sold to foreign purchasers. Across Greater Sydney, development sites sales with potential for higher density ranged from $60,000 to $400,000 per apartment, excluding the Central Business District, while the range extended out significantly in the CBD to $350,000 to $1,000,000 per apartment. Site sales volumes have fallen over the course of the past year for the remaining major capital cities after strong results over the two years to August 2014. Sales volume in Greater Melbourne totalled $1.79 billion in the year to August 2015. Site sales averaged $35,000 to $200,000 per apartment, excluding the CBD, where 47.6% of these sales, by value, were sold to foreign purchasers. The volume of site sales in Greater Brisbane at $685.85 million and Greater Perth at $213.36 million saw foreign investment, by value, at 58.6% and 64.6%, respectively. Both cities have a similar sales rate range when excluding the CBD starting from $30,000 to $110,000 per apartment for Greater Brisbane, while Greater Perth ranges slightly wider from $20,000 to $120,000 per apartment. Since January 2011 some 123,815 new apartments have been added to the major capital cities residential stock, led by Greater Sydney with 46,490 and Greater Melbourne with 41,045. In total across the major cities, there are currently 80,135 apartments under construction, with another 125,060 with DA approval which have the potential to be online by the end of 2018. The report suggests that apartment numbers could grow further when approval is granted for the additional 86,430 apartments currently submitted in these cities. ‘As determined by pre-sales, the market dictates when new apartment projects get underway, so for most local developers, there is a strong chance that these projects may be pushed beyond this timeframe, the report explains. Prices for new apartments can vary considerably, with the most disparity seen in Greater Sydney with a range from $9,000 to $22,000 per square meter for a standard finish up to $32,000 to $45,000 per square meter for prime. A standard finish apartment in Greater Melbourne will range from $6,500 to $13,500 per… Continue reading
