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Million dollar sales push up Auckland’s average house price in September
The average price of homes sold in Auckland, New Zealand, reached a record high last month, according to the latest published figures. There are signs that prices and sales activity in the Auckland residential housing market will lift after the forthcoming general election, says agents Barfoot & Thompson. This comes as the average house sales price in the city reached £738,876, the highest on record, some $13,000 up on the previous highest average price established in March this year, and up 3.8% on the previous month’s average price. ‘The sales data shows the high average price was the result of a relatively modest number of homes being sold, of which a high number sold for in excess of $1 million. Of the 959 homes sold, 164 or 17.1% were for in excess of $1 million,’ said Peter Thompson, managing director of Barfoot & Thompson. ‘Properties in the higher price range are less affected by the uncertainties that exist during a run in to a general election, and with such a high number of sales at the high end, the average price has lifted more than might be the case in a normal month’s trading,’ he added. He pointed out that in contrast, September’s median price at $635,000, is up less than 1% on that for August, and is more in line with the median price over the past four months. ‘Without doubt, the election’s influence can be seen in September’s sales numbers. However, what can also be seen in the month’s figures is that housing activity was starting to lift during September, and normal spring trading can be expected now the election is behind us,’ said Thompson. The data also shows that new listings, at 1,314 for the month, were already starting to build and were up 16.4% on listings during August and only 5.9% down on July’s 1,396 new listings. ‘One factor which has the potential to put pressure on sales prices in the short term is the low number of listings at month end. At 3,075 listings, this is the lowest number this year and the lowest at the end of a September for more than a decade, and means that at the start of the month choice is extremely limited,’ explained Thompson. He said it may take another month for the new listing pipeline to build and added that sales of property for under $500,000 held up during September, accounting for 30.1% of all sales. Continue reading
More British buyers in top end of UK country house market
British buyers are active again in the top end of the UK’s country house market, making up two thirds of buyers in the five million pounds plus sector since the start of the year. This compares to less than half of this market in the same timescale last year, according to research by leading international real estate firm Knight Frank. The figures show that British buyers have become a more regular feature in the super prime country house market this year, accounting for 71% of all sales since the start of 2014. In 2013 they accounted for just 46% of the market. The improving UK economy and growing confidence in the property market outside of London over the course of the year have contributed to the rise in British buyers at this level of the market, according to Rupert Sweeting, head of Knight Frank Country. ‘The increase in mergers and acquisitions and the stock market has also encouraged UK national buyers to buy having been waiting in the wings for a while. Some company owners now feel they can invest their dividends in a home rather than keep them in reserve for their business,’ he said. ‘However, they have often had to outbid international buyers who whilst wanting to move to the UK for education, political and work reasons have found their currency a little weaker against the pound,’ he pointed out. Since the market low in 2009, super prime country homes have risen in value by around 12%, in prime central London price growth over the same period has been in excess of 70% making the country seem good value in comparison. The firm is starting to see an increase in the number of London buyers active at the top end of the country market, with some London dwellers choosing to take advantage of record prices in the Capital and spend their budgets on large country properties. As well as rising demand from domestic buyers, demand from Asia has increased. Chinese buyers have accounted for 6% of the market since the start of 2014, up from 0% last year and 2% in 2012. While economic conditions in the UK are favourable, the political backdrop has become more unpredictable, the firm also pointed out. Taxation, for example, is likely to become more of an issue in the run-up to the general election and could have a direct impact on the demand for luxury property and on price performance. Continue reading
The rate at which UK house sales fall through is rising
The rate at which house sales in the UK are falling through has increased steadily since March 2013, new research shows. Tougher mortgage rules have prevented purchasers borrowing as much as they anticipated they would be able to is one reason, according to the research from Quick Move Now. Also, buyers are increasingly nervous of a potential market crash, said Quick Move Now’s market analyst Donna Houguez. ‘We are seeing two clear reasons for the upwardly moving fall through rate. Stricter rules imposed on borrowing by lenders as a result of the mortgage market review have resulted in buyers making offers, confident that they would be able to secure a mortgage and then realising that they were unable to, forcing them to pull out of sales,’ she explained. ‘In August and September, the reason for sales falling through clearly changed, and it was the buyers themselves who became nervous. We saw a sharp increase in the number of buyers who had made a generous offer in order to secure a property against the competition change their mind and pull out amid fears of an imminent property market collapse,’ she added. Meanwhile, the Little House Company has compiled statistics from its database of private vendors to evaluate the trends of private sellers from June to August 2014. This data is particularly interesting as the summer months are generally regarded as a bad time to sell homes, yet the findings show a significant number of vendors bucked the trend and listed their homes this summer. The research shows that the average age of private vendors was 40.3 years of age, which suggests that the majority of private vendors are second time buyers. The research also shows that greater London is the most popular area to sell homes without an estate agent, compared to other UK regions. Central London remains a stronghold for estate agents with direct sales stronger in the suburbs. Private vendors are not limited to Greater London, and the data shows private vendors listing properties up and down the UK. The second and third most popular areas for private property sales this summer were Cheshire and South Yorkshire, respectively. Continue reading
