TSI
US existing home sales jump to highest pace for almost six years
Existing home sales in the United States increased by 5.1% in May year on year to their highest pace in nearly six years, partly fuelled by an increase in first time buyers. The latest data from the National Association of Realtors shows that all regions, led by the North East, saw sales increase. They have risen year on year for eight consecutive months and are 9.2% above a year ago. The median existing home price for all housing types in May was $228,700, which is 7.9% above May 2014, the 39th consecutive month of year on year price gains. According to NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun May home sales rebounded strongly following April's decline and are now at their highest pace since November 2009. ‘Solid sales gains were seen throughout the country in May as more home owners listed their home for sale and therefore provided greater choices for buyers,’ he said but added that overall supply still remains tight. ‘Homes are selling fast and price growth in many markets continues to teeter at or near double-digit appreciation. Without solid gains in new home construction, prices will likely stay elevated even with higher mortgage rates above 4%,’ he explained. The data also shows that total housing inventory at the end of May increased 3.2% to 2.29 million existing homes available for sale, and is 1.8% higher than a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 5.1 month supply at the current sales pace, down from 5.2 months in April. The percent share of first time buyers rose to 32% in May, up from 30% in April and matching the highest share since September 2012. A year ago, first time buyers represented 27% of all buyers. ‘The return of first time buyers in May is an encouraging sign and is the result of multiple factors, including strong job gains among young adults, less expensive mortgage insurance and lenders offering low down payment programmes,’ said Yun. ‘More first time buyers are expected to enter the market in coming months, but the overall share climbing higher will depend on how fast rates and prices rise,’ Yun added. With demand continuing to far exceed supply, properties typically stayed on the market for 40 days in May, up from 39 days in April but the third shortest time since NAR began tracking in May 2011. Short sales were on the market the longest at a median of 131 days in May, while foreclosures sold in 56 days and non-distressed homes took 38 days. Some 45% of homes sold in May were on the market for less than a month. All cash sales were 24% of transactions in May for the third straight month and are down considerably from a year ago when they were 32%. Individual investors, who account for many cash sales, purchased 14% of homes in May, unchanged from last month and down from 16% in May 2014. Some 67% of investors paid cash in May. Distressed sales, that… Continue reading
Home ownership in England and Wales falls for first time in 100 years
Home ownership in England and Wales has fallen for the first time in a century with the latest official figures from the Office of National Statistics showing substantial trend change. The decade from 2001 to 2011 saw the biggest changes in longstanding trends in home ownership and renting. In 2011, the proportion of owned homes decreased by 5%, the first fall in a century. As a consequence, home rentals have increased, especially among young people. In 2011, some 64% or 15 million of the 23.4 million households in England and Wales were owner occupied, however this was a decline from 69% in 2001, This led to an increase in the proportion of rented households from 31% to 36%, particularly within the private sector where rentals rose from 12% to 18% of the housing market, whilst social rented households remained stable, falling slightly from 19% to 18%. Renters were younger and less likely to be employed. Some 87% of those aged 16 to 24 were renting compared with 24% of those aged 65 to 74. Meanwhile, only 1% of those who owned their house were unemployed, compared with 7% of those who rented. Successive governments have not made housing a high enough policy priority, according to TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady. ‘As a result we now have the most expensive and dysfunctional housing system in Europe, with millions of people living in often sub-standard private rented accommodation,’ she said. ‘A generation of young people face the prospect of never owning their own home. There are no longer any areas in the South of England where average house prices are less than five times the average wage,’ she pointed out. She also said that selling off existing affordable homes through Right to Buy is not the way to deal with Britain’s housing crisis. ‘With the government able to borrow at rock bottom rates it needs to get out its cheque book and start building. Investing in house building will pay for itself and generate thousands of jobs and apprenticeships,’ she added. Continue reading
London borough of Kensington and Chelsea has most expensive homes in UK
Boroughs in London continue to dominate the UK’s list of most expensive places for property on a per square metre basis, led by Kensington and Chelsea, new research shows. However, there are pockets outside Southern England where property fetches a high price per square metre, including Altrincham in Cheshire, a number of towns in Warwickshire and the Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Overall there has been a marked widening in property prices per square metre between southern England and the rest of Britain since 1995, according to the research from the Halifax. Indeed, prices per square metre have risen by 388% in Great London compared with a national increase of 227%. Kensington and Chelsea is Britain's most expensive area with an average price of £11,635 per square meter, nearly six times the national average of £2,033. The borough is the only area in Britain with an average price above £10,000 per square meter with Westminster having the next highest prices at £9,571. Some 16 areas, all in Greater London, have an average price in excess of £5,000 per square meter, four more than last year. Outside southern England, Altrincham in Cheshire remains the most expensive town with an average price of £2,446 per square meter and is followed by a cluster of towns in the West Midlands with Solihull at £2,367, Warwick at £2,363 and Leamington Spa at £2,353. The Scottish cities of Edinburgh at £2,297 and Aberdeen at £2,281 are the next most expensive areas outside southern England. Aberdare in south Wales has the lowest average price, at £910 per square meter. This is less than one tenth of the average price per square metre in Kensington and Chelsea and all 10 of the towns with the lowest prices per square metre are outside the south of England. Four of the ten towns with the lowest average price per square metre are in Scotland with Wishaw at £926, Airdrie at £998, Greenock at £1,004 and Coatbridge at £1,004. Three are in Wales with Merthyr Tydfil at £967 and Neath at £1,005 in addition to Aberdare. The three English towns with the lowest home prices on a per square metre basis are Accrington at £990, Scunthorpe at £1,022 and Blackpool at £1,052. The 10 areas recording the highest house price growth on a per square metre basis over the last five years are all London boroughs. Hackney at 71% recorded the biggest increase over the five year period closely followed by Southwark at 70%. Nationally, house prices per square metre have risen by 18% since 2010 from an average of £1,719 to £2,033 in 2015 with increases across all regions. Greater London has experienced substantially faster growth than elsewhere in Britain with an average increase of 45%. The South East at 22% recorded the next biggest rise. Price increases have been much more modest in many other parts of the country with the smallest rises in the North at 3%… Continue reading
