TSI
Hong Kong residential property prices reached record high in May
Residential property prices in Hong Kong reached a record high in May, increasing more than 20% compared with the same month last year. The growth in values continues despite the government’s series of property market cooling measures. The transaction volume of new homes reached over 8,700 for the first half of 2015, the data from the Rating and Valuation Department shows. According to an analysis by international real estate firm Knight Frank it is a result of strong housing demand, ample liquidity partly attributable to the previous rally in the Mainland and Hong Kong stock markets and the continual return of wealthy Mainland investors to the city’s residential sector. Amid positive market sentiment, property developers have been actively acquiring residential sites this year, in line with the government’s target to boost housing supply. In early July, a large residential site in So Kwun Wat in Tuen Mun, estimated to require an investment of up to HK$8 billion, was sold for HK$3.82202 billion, representing the second highest ever accommodation value in the area. During the third quarter of this year the Hong Kong government will release three residential sites for sale. It has indicated that additional land may be launched by the end of September, depending on the market situation and progress of preparatory work. ‘The annual private housing supply target of 19,000 flats is considered achievable this year. Despite the rising supply, we expect home prices to continue rising this year, as it will take time for the new sites to be developed into flats,’ the Knight Frank report concludes. Meanwhile in Greater China the Grade-A office market remained active in June, driven by continual expansion demand from Chinese financial institutions, most notably fund and asset management companies. Knight Frank believes that Grade-A office rents in Central will continue rising steadily in the second half of 2015. Last month, with rents in prime retail districts softening, mid-range retailers gained opportunities to enter high profile streets at lower rents. Retail sales are not expected to recover in the near term. Knight Frank says that prime retail rents will continue to come under downward pressure for the remainder of the year. Continue reading
UK homes market sees more properties coming up for sale online
The number of UK home owners putting their properties on the market online has increased by 7.1% in the past month compared to the previous month, the latest research shows. Some 67% of major towns and cities in the UK have seen a rise in the number of new properties being marketed in the same period, according to the data from online estate agents House Simple. The index, compiled from the number of new properties listed every week on the property portal Rightmove in more than 100 major towns and cities across the UK and all the London boroughs, also shows that although new stock levels remain low overall across the country, home owners are finally starting to put their homes on the market. The largest increases in new listings in the past month compared to the previous month was in Swindon with growth of 47.3% followed by Liverpool and Leicester, both at 30.4%, then Lancaster at 24.3% and Sunderland at 22%. Next came Halifax at 21.1%, Coventry at 21.1%, Hereford at 19%, Lincoln at 17.6% and Oxford and Dundee both at 17.5%. These towns and cities were followed by Edinburgh and Blackpool at 17.2%, Hartlepool at 17.1% and Bolton at 16.3%. The figures also reveal a distinct north/south divide, with home owners in the north of England and Scotland appearing to be more active in June and July in marketing their properties. Nine out of 15 of the new property listings risers are in the north of England or Scotland, while four towns/cities in the Midlands also feature in the list. Winchester saw the biggest drop in new properties coming onto the market in the past month compared to the previous month with a fall of 17.9%, followed by Hull down by 13.7%, Doncaster down by 12.5% and Cambridge down by 8.7%. Next came Nottingham with a fall of 8.1%, Torquay at 7.6%, Grimsby at 6.2%, Norwich at 5.8% and Glasgow at 5.7%. The London property market has slowed in recent months. However, Rightmove figures analysed by HouseSimple reveal that the capital has seen an 8.1% increase in new properties being listed in the past month compared to the previous month. Some 78.1% of London boroughs have seen an increase in new properties being marketed in the past month and the biggest rise was in the City and Westminster at 29.5%, Islington at 28.8% and Southwark at 27.1%. Meanwhile the biggest fallers have been Bromley, down 11.2%, Kingston upon Thames down 6.6% and Havering down 4.4%. ‘A stampede of sellers coming to market was expected after the General Election result, but that stampede never materialised. In fact, for the first few weeks there appeared to be a fair amount of caution and reluctance amongst sellers to market,’ said Alex Gosling, chief executive officer of House Simple. ‘This may have been a case of waiting to see if property prices might start to rise rapidly with the confidence generated by a stable, majority government. Now it… Continue reading
Extensions and alterations add £6.5 billion to the value of UK homes
Home owners in the UK have added an estimated £6.5 billion to the value of the country’s housing stock in the 12 months to March 2015, according to new research. Some 220,000 owner occupiers in the UK extended or altered their home in past year, equivalent to one in 74 home owners, the report from international real estate adviser Savills also shows. Based on the assumption that the average extension or alteration adds 10% to the value of the average home, this would create an average uplift of £30,000 per property, the report points out. By contrast mortgaged home movers are still only at half the level they were 10 years ago pre credit crunch, at 358,400 in the year to the end of March 2015, according to data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). ‘The cost of taking the next step up the housing ladder and the difficulties in acquiring the mortgage finance to do so appear to have encouraged a significant proportion of owner occupiers to extend or alter their existing home,’ said Lucian Cook, head of Savills UK residential research. ‘Changes made by the mortgage market review and increased stamp duty for properties over £1 million are both likely catalysts to home improvements, impeding the rate and volume of transactions in the market,’ he added. The report also suggest that there is a far greater propensity to alter or extend in high value markets. Savills estimates one in 44 home owners did so in London the year to end March 2015, while £3.6 billion of the £6.5 billion was added to the value of housing stock of London and the South East. ‘High value markets have generally been the strongest performers post credit crunch. Extending has therefore been both more financially viable, with owners recouping the money spent on home improvements through house price growth and more attractive given the relative costs of upsizing,’ said Cook. The research also shows that Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea top the list of local authorities with the highest propensity to extend, both creating an uplift in property values of over £100 million before fixtures and fittings are taken into account. Beyond London, areas such as St Albans, Cambridge, Winsor and Maidenhead and Guildford have all seen significant numbers of home owners extending their home. Continue reading
