Uk
Chinese emerge as enthusiastic buyers of property in the US
The volume of property sold to overseas buyers in the United States has declined slightly but Chinese people are buying more real estate, exceeding the amount of other top international buyers. Research from the National Association of Realtors suggest that waning economic growth in many countries and higher home prices along with a strengthening US dollar was responsible for the slight overall fall. However, the data, covering sales to overseas buyers between April 2015 and March 2016, reveals a significant fall in buying from non-resident foreigners. Sales to overseas buyers amounted to $102.6 billion of residential property, a 1.3% decline from the $103.9 billion of property purchased in the previous year’s survey. Overall, a total of 214,885 residential properties were bought by foreign buyers, up 2.8%, and properties were typically valued higher at $277,380 compared to the median price of all US existing home sales at $223,058. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the figures highlight the tremendous appeal US real estate still has on many foreign nationals despite the price of property becoming less affordable. ‘Weaker economic growth throughout the world, devalued foreign currencies and financial market turbulence combined to present significant challenges for foreign buyers over the past year,’ he explained. ‘While these obstacles led to a cool down in sales from non-resident foreign buyers, the purchases by recent immigrant foreigners rose, resulting in the overall sales dollar volume still being the second highest since 2009,’ he pointed out. He also pointed out that overall foreigners, especially those from China, continue to see the US real estate as a solid investment opportunity and the country as an attractive place to visit and live. According to the survey, sales to non-resident foreign buyers pulled back by approximately $10 billion to the lowest dollar volume since 2013 when it was $35 billion. The decline was largely caused by the decrease in the share of non-resident foreign buyers to foreign residential buyers to 41%, down from the almost even split between the two in previous years. ‘Both the increase in US home prices, up 6% in March 2016 compared to one year ago, and the depreciating value of foreign currencies against the US dollar made buying property a lot pricier last year,’ said Yun. The research shows that at least eight countries, including China and Canada, saw double digit percent increases in the median sales price of a US existing home when measured in their country’s currency, led by Venezuela at 45% and Brazil at 24%. For the fourth year in a row, buyers from China exceeded all countries by dollar volume of sales at $27.3 billion, which was a slight decrease from last year’s survey at $28.6 billion, but over triple the total dollar volume of sales from Canadian buyers who were ranked second at $8.9 billion. Indeed, Chinese buyers purchased the most housing units for the second consecutive year at 29,195 but this was down from 34,327 in 2015, and also typically bought… Continue reading
Prime central London prices down 0.2% in June
Average property in the prime central London market fell by 0.2% in June, making it the weakest monthly result since November 2014, according to the latest published data. It means that year on year annual price growth in this sector is down, 0.6%, according to the index report from international real estate firm Knight Frank. Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank, pointed out that the index data for June largely covered the period leading up to the UK’s referendum on the country’s future in the European Union. ‘Weaker price growth, together with rising economic and market uncertainty surrounding the European vote, has prompted vendors to reduce asking prices over recent months,’ he explained. But he pointed out that this more realistic approach has resulted in an uptick in activity, most notably in the immediate aftermath of the referendum result on 24 June. Following the referendum the number of transactions across prime London was 38% higher than the prior week and 29% higher than the final week of May. ‘This positive story has been widely reported, but what has often been missed is the weakness of sales prior to the vote, which has flattered more recent sales data. While the reduction in asking prices has boosted recent activity, it would be wrong to ignore market risks,’ said Bill. ‘An initial reading of post-referendum data on new buyer registrations and viewings reveals both have slipped back slightly compared to the same period a month ago although it is still very early to draw firm conclusions,’ he added. Looking ahead, Bill said that political uncertainty in the UK will undoubtedly weigh on sentiment, and will be likely to last until at least the heads of terms of the new relationship between the UK and the EU are agreed. ‘A reduction in political risk, should allow mitigating factors to kick in and support the London market. A cut in the UK base rate, while unlikely to fully translate into lower mortgage rates, would be a positive for the property market. Similarly, recent and proposed rate cuts in markets like India and China and record low government bond yields make property a more attractive investment by comparison,’ he explained. The index report also shows that the current residential yield in prime central London is 3.1% versus 0.9% on a 10 year UK government bond. Bill also pointed out that the recent weakening of Sterling is having a positive impact on relative affordability for international buyers in the London market. For example, for a Hong Kong buyer effective pricing in prime central London is 21% lower than it was two years ago. ‘Looking at the market by price band, we see a more nuanced story. On a quarterly basis, while the whole market saw prices fall 0.3%, prices for sub-£1 million properties rose on average by 0.4%,’ Bill also said. The data also shows that this outperformance of lower price points within the prime London market is… Continue reading
Shortage of supply pushing up house prices in Ireland
A nationwide supply shortage has fuelled a rise of over 2% in the price of the average house in the last three months in Ireland. The majority of counties in the country recorded price increases in the second quarter of 2016 with a lack of supply exacerbated by would be commuters moving further from Dublin as they look for more affordable homes. The Real Estate Alliance Average House Price Survey shows that the average three bed semi-detached home nationally now costs €195,361, an increase of over €4,000 or 2.18% since the end of March and up 4.49% compared to the same time last year. ‘We are seeing firms who are in business for 50 years who have never experienced such a low level of supply, and this is responsible for causing sharp increases in prices in some areas over the past three months,’ said REA chairman Michael O’Connor. While prices in Dublin city and county grew by 1.4% to €363,333 since March, competition for scarce housing below the Central Bank’s €220,000 deposit limit in both the inner and outer commuter areas is fuelling an inflationary market. Prices in the commuter counties of Cork and Galway have risen by €5,000 to €214,588, a rise of 2.4%, while those in the rest of the country have increased by over €3,000 to €128,768 or 2.75%. Three bed semi prices in Kilkenny city rose by €20,000 or 12.5% in the past three months, a figure that is entirely driven by record low supply, according to Michael Boyd of REA Boyds. ‘Our analysis of the Price Register tells us that there are 15 less units per month selling in the county than this time last year and that this is the lowest level since these records began,’ he said. ‘We are finding that demand is strong, mainly from loan approved returned emigrants or Eastern European buyers. We desperately need new building to start, especially as prices for quality stock are now well into viable levels for builders to commence,’ he added. The survey also shows that as the flight to another of the outer commuter counties continues, prices in Laois have risen by €10,000 or 8% in the past three months while prices in Kildare have remained static at €242,500 in the four main towns, due to a low supply of suitable housing stock, combined with a relatively higher price to neighbouring counties. In contrast, Meath has now broken the €200,000 barrier at €201,250 following a 3.21% growth in three months, as Dublin based commuters move out to houses they can afford under the Central Bank’s deposit guidelines. In Wicklow, prices in Blessington have risen from €240,000 to €265,000 in a three month period, a rise of 10.42%, with agent REA Murphys advising that there is a bubble in the three bed semi market. Prices in the county as a whole have gone up by 4.44% to €235,000 over the past three months. Louth continues to act as a microcosm of… Continue reading
