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Million pound plus home sales reach record high in the UK
The number of property sales worth at least a million pounds in the UK is at a record high, according to latest research from Lloyds Bank. There were 6,143 million pound property sales in the country in the first half of 2014 which is equivalent to 33 transactions everyday over the period. The 6,143 million pound property sales in the first half of the year represented a 46% increase compared to the same period in 2013 when sales totalled 4,198. Indeed, million pound home sales have grown by 345% since the first half of 2009, when sales in this market segment were at their lowest point in the past decade. However, while million pound home sales outperform the rest of the market, they are still a very small share of the overall market. The 46% increase in million pound home sales in the first half of the year significantly outpaced the 26% increase in the sale of properties below a million pounds over the period. Despite this large increase, the sale of million pound properties accounts for just 1.3% of all national residential sales although this share has more than doubled since 2009. But even in London, million pound sales account for just 7.6% of all sales. There were 1,360 homes sold for at least two million pounds in the first half of 2014, some 43% higher than over the first six months of 2013 when the number of sales totalled 949. Homes selling for at least two million pounds accounted for 22% of all million pound plus home sales in the first half of 2014. This proportion had edged down marginally from 23% in the same period a year earlier. As a proportion of all sales, homes sold for over two million pounds account for just 0.22%. Some 70% or 4,259 of all million pound home sales in Britain during the first half of 2014 were in London. The capital is followed by the South East with a share of 16% or 1,096 and the East of England at 6% or 109. All regions have recorded an increase in sales in 2014 compared to the same period a year earlier. The largest percentage rises in million pound home sales were in the North East with a rise of 150%, the West Midlands with an increase of 100%, South West up 87% and the East Midlands up 80%. In the two regions with the largest concentration of million pound sales, London and the South East, transactions rose by 47% and 41% respectively. The research also shows that close to a quarter of all million pound homes sold in Britain during the first half of 2014 were in the prime property locations of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster at 13% and 10% respectively. Cheshire East and the City of Edinburgh recorded the highest number of million pound sales outside southern England. ‘The number of homes sold for at least a £1 million is at a record high, with this sector… Continue reading
Poll reveals large number of UK home owners think their home is haunted
A large number of home owners in the UK think there are some ghostly goings-on happening behind their front doors, with 15% saying that they think their property is haunted. Of these, some 47% said they’ve felt a ‘presence’ in their home, 29% claimed they have experienced strange and unearthly chills around the property, and 16% of those living in a suspected haunted house revealed that they had actually seen a ghost there. Whilst there were some who claimed to have seen a spectre haunting their home, others had experienced the aftermath of spiritual activity, according to a Halloween poll from Ocean Finance. A fifth said they had seen items around their property move on their own, whether actually witnessing things flying around or finding that items were not where they had left them. However it is not something home owners should boast about if they are selling as another survey for Ocean found that 30% of people would be put off buying a property if someone had recently died there. Nearly a quarter, 23%, said that a property’s proximity to a graveyard could dissuade them from buying, and 9% even admitted that they would decide against a house if its address was ‘unlucky’ number 13. However, superstitious and psychic beliefs are not all bad news for sellers. Some 26% said that when they had been to view a house or flat they were interested in buying, they felt an aura around the property and 77% of these said that the property’s aura had been positive, with the remaining 23% sensing a negative aura. A property’s aura even influenced some people’s decision to buy. Of those who claimed to have felt an aura at a property, 58% said that it had encouraged them to move in. Just 20% said that the presence of an aura had dissuaded them from buying a home, showing that in general, house sellers can be thankful for these ‘feelings’. ‘It seems that some people in Britain are less pragmatic than they seem. With so many convinced that they have a ghostly guest at home, it’s not surprising that it’s influencing some house buyers’ decision on whether to move into a property,’ said Ian Williams, spokesman for Ocean Finance. Continue reading
Outlook for new home construction in Australia expected to be strong
The new homes market in Australia is expected to be healthy in the coming year with land sales up, especially in regional areas. Quarterly residential land sales held up at reasonably elevated levels throughout 2013/2014, with 10% growth, according to the latest HIA-RP Data Residential Land Report provided by the Housing Industry Association. HIA chief economist Harley Dale explained that the June quarter was particularly with residential land sales up by 8.4%. ‘Both capital city and regional land markets experienced higher turnover during the June 2014 quarter. Growth was stronger in the aggregate regional land markets, up 13% compared to a 5.5% rise for Australia’s six state capitals,’ he said. ‘Consistent with signals from other housing indicators, the geographical recovery in residential land sales is broadening. That is an encouraging sign for detached and semi-detached dwelling construction in 2014/2015,’ he added. However, he pointed out that there is still a wide variation in the trajectory of residential land values around Australia this cycle, within which growth in the weighted median price for capital cities well out-paces that for regional Australia. ‘Over the longer time frame of the past fifteen years there has been a substantial increase in residential land values, which cannot be repeated if the nation is to succeed in adequately housing its growing and ageing population. Land supply remains a policy area that requires much greater focus, and not just at a state level,’ Dale said. In the June 2014 quarter the weighted median price of residential land increased by 1.1% to $205,330, only the third time the value has exceeded the $200,000 threshold. Capital city land prices increased by 1.8% in the quarter to be up by 7.4% compared to the June 2013 quarter. Land prices in regional Australia were essentially flat in the June 2014 quarter, easing by 0.1% but up by 4.1% in annual terms. According to RP Data research director, Tim Lawless, the bounce back after a softer March quarter result suggests there may still be some life left in the residential land sector. ‘This is the strongest result since the June quarter of 2013 which is welcome news. A rise in land sales implies a rise in detached housing construction about six months down the track which in turn provides a substantial multiplier for the Australian economy; more jobs, more building materials, home furnishings, appliances and white good sales,’ said Lawless. ‘Whether this quarterly improvement can develop into a trend is yet to be seen. Despite the June quarter lift, the previous three quarters were showing a slowdown in the number of sales while vacant land prices continued to rise, a trend which may point to ongoing supply shortages of well-located vacant land,’ he added. Continue reading
