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US home prices up 6.5% year on year, latest index shows
Home prices across the United States, including distressed sales, increased by 6.5% in June 2015 compared with the same month in 2014, according to the latest index. It is the 40th month in a row of year on year price increases and values were also up month on month with growth of 1.7% in June compared to May, the CoreLogic home price index also shows. Excluding distressed sales, home prices increased by 6.4% in June 2015 compared with June 2014 and increased by 1.4% month on month with only Massachusetts (-1.5 percent) and Louisiana with an annual price fall of 1.5% and 0.1% respectively. Including distressed sales, that is short sales and real estate owned sales (REO), some 35 states were at or within 10% of their peak prices in June 2015 and 15 reached new price peaks. The firm’s latest house price forecast indicates that home prices, including distressed sales, are projected to increase by 0.6% month on month from June 2015 to July 2015 and by 4.5% on a year on year basis from June 2015 to June 2016. Excluding distressed sales, home prices are projected to increase by 0.5% month on month from June 2015 to July 2015 and by 4.2% year on year from June 2015 to June 2016. The index report also shows across the country there was 4.8 months supply but the measure varied greatly across cities. In San Jose and Denver, there was only 1.6 months’ supply of homes on the market, whereas Philadelphia had a seven months’ supply and Providence had a 6.6 months’ supply. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic, explained that the stronger appreciation was registered in cities with limited inventory and strong homebuyer activity, such as San Jose and Denver. According to Anand Nallathambi, president and chief executive officer of CoreLogic pent-up buying demand and affordability, together with higher consumer confidence buoyed by a more robust labour market, are a potent mix fuelling the 6.5% jump in home prices with more increases likely to come. Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were Colorado with growth of 9.8%, Washington up 8.9%, New York up 8.3%, South Carolina up 8% and Nevada also up 8%. Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were Colorado up 9.3%, New York up 8.5%, Washington up 8.3%, Oregon up 8.2% and Nevada up 7.9%. Including distressed sales, only four states experienced home price depreciation with the biggest fall of 5% in Massachusetts, while Connecticut was down 0.6%, Louisiana down 0.4% and Mississippi with a fall of 0.3. The five states with the largest peak to current declines, including distressed transactions, were Nevada with a fall of 32.2%, Florida at 28.7%, Rhode Island at 26.5%, Arizona at 25.8% and Maryland down 21.2%. Of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population, some 93 showed year on year increases while seven showed year on year declines… Continue reading
Prime property prices in prime central London up for first time since Sept 2014
Prime property prices in central London increased slightly, up by 0.8% in the second quarter of 2015, the first rise since September 2014, according to the latest index. Pimlico has seen the strongest growth in the last year with values up 5% or £66,000 compared with the second quarter of 2014, the data from estate agent Marsh & Parsons. The second quarter has also seen a 17% rise in demand for property in this sector but at the same time supply increased by only 10% while overall 42% of sales are now made by investors, a rise of 8% year on year. At the same time, there has been an upswing in foreign buyers who accounted for 34% of all sales in the second quarter of the year, up from 30% in the second quarter of 2014 although then firm says this has much to do with European buyers of all nationalities coming to live and work in London. Overall property in this sector costs 27% more per square foot than across London as a whole with the average square foot of property in central locations such as Holland Park, Notting Hill or Kensington and Chelsea valued at £1,516, some 27% higher than the capital wide average. In contrast, overall in Prime London, the typical price per square foot stands at £1,192. ‘The excellent capital appreciation and secure nature of property in prestigious central addresses of Kensington, Chelsea and Holland Park have long made them appealing particularly to the investor and it’s encouraging that we’ve seen such a rise recently,’ said Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons. ‘Investors are a good gauge of the overall health of the London market. If there was any cause for concern about the future property market, investors would be upping sticks and moving elsewhere,’ he explained. ‘But that fact they are still putting down roots in the capital shows how fertile current conditions are. While there may not be much action to see at the moment, prices are still growing, and the foundations for fruitful capital returns are strong,’ he added. He also pointed out that price growth turned a corner and started to improve again with a 0.8% quarterly rise compared to a 0.6% drop in the first quarter of the year. Outer Prime areas of the capital have seen the strongest resurgence in price growth, experiencing 1% growth. However, house price growth in this sector is still much slower than last year, and on an annual basis, values have dipped across the prime London property market. Rollings said that it is important to place this into a longer term context, and since June 2013 the value of the average prime London home has increased by 12.1%. In terms of property type, family sized homes have experienced the biggest rise in price with four bed properties across prime London appreciating by 1.3%… Continue reading
Portuguese residential property market recovery ongoing
The residential real estate market in Portugal is seeing an ongoing steady recovery in prices, supported by rising demand and increasingly strong growth in sales activity, according to the latest index. While the lettings market has seen rents stable for a fourth month in succession following years of persistent decline, the index survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Confidencial Imobiliário shows. The data also shows that new buyer interest continued to rise at a firm pace across all regional markets, with growth particularly pronounced in Porto during June. But the market is still open to the weakness of the euro zone, particularly Greece. At the same time, newly agreed sales increased at the sharpest monthly pace since the survey was launched back in 2010, and have now risen continuously for around a year and a half. Going forward, sales expectations are pointing to further robust growth in the near term, even if the net balance eased slightly from the record high set in May. Given the sustained improvement in both enquiries and sales, prices continued to recover for a sixth month in succession, the index report explains. It also points out that the pace of house price growth accelerated a notch, driven primarily by the strong gains posted in Lisbon and looking ahead, near term price expectations continue to point to a stronger pick-up on the horizon. Over the next 12 months, respondents are now anticipating prices will rise by 2.7% at the national level. Again, the strongest recovery is anticipated to come in Lisbon and the Algarve at around 3%, while projections are for 2% growth in Porto. The national confidence indicator, an amalgamation of near term price and sales expectations, now stands at +36 equalling the third highest reading on record, despite easing compared to May’s exceptionally strong result. In the lettings market, solid growth in demand continues to be met with a decline in the number of new listings by landlords. As a result, rents remained more or less unchanged for a fourth consecutive month, while expectations suggest a further period of stability lies ahead. ‘It is important to see the Portuguese market’s resilience in the face of the uncertainty caused by the Greek crisis,’ said Ricardo Guimarães, Director of Ci. ‘Risks were highlighted by the agents but, nevertheless, activity indicators remained clearly positive, regarding both sales and prices. This was a critical test for the market, reinforcing its potential,’ he added. RICS chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn, believes that the recovery in sales market activity appears to be gathering momentum, driven by improving economic fundamentals and rising confidence. ‘However, significant risks remain within the euro area which could damage sentiment if a resolution is not found,’ he warned. Continue reading
