Tag Archives: australia
Home sales still rising in Auckland, but prices stall
Auckland house sales activity was at its highest in more than 15 years during July, but price increases have stalled, according to the latest real estate data. Indeed, the average sales price at $827,359 has remained much the same as for the past two months, the figures from real estate agent Barfoot Thompson show. In July the average sales price was within $1,000 of that for June, and only $5,000 ahead of that for May and managing director Peter Thompson pointed out that a stable average price over a three month period is a trend not witnessed for some time. ‘The combination of high turnover and stable price, points to buyer confidence in the strength of the market at current prices but also recognition that property is fully priced. The last three months of trading also demonstrates that high sales numbers can be sustained without prices increasing,’ he said. ‘The first signs that price increases were slowing could be seen in last month's sales figures, and this month's results confirm that prices are no longer racing ahead. In fact, the median price in July at $757,000 is down $29,000 on that for June, but up $7,000 on that for May,’ he explained. But property turnover is rising and in July the firm sold 1,388 homes, some 18.9% higher than the number in June and 41.2% higher than in July last year. It is the highest sales figure for a July going back to 1999, and 4.5% higher than in July 2003, the year normally regarded as the most active on record. The firm’s data also shows that new listings at 1,777 were the second highest for any month this year, the highest being in March at 1997, and were 27.3% higher than in July last year. Meanwhile, total listings at month end at 2,802 were at their lowest since December last year, and Thompson said this will contribute to choice remaining tight during August. Sales of properties in the million dollar plus category at 411 during the month were the second highest on record. There was also strong interest in property in the under $500,000 category, with sales numbers reaching 200 and representing 14.4% of all sales. In June sales of properties under $500,000 fell to 13.6% of sales. ‘With Spring approaching comparing market activity in the next few months with 2014 trading could be challenging, as in 2014 trading was significantly impacted by a 'wait and see' attitude that developed as we moved towards the general election. In the lead up to the election sales numbers slowed and prices did not recover until November,’ said Thompson. Continue reading
US housing values drop for first time in almost four years
The housing market in the United States is slowing down, with home values falling month on month for the first time in almost four years, according to the latest index data. Prices fell 0.1% in July compared to the previous month and year on year growth was 3%, down from 3.4% in June, the Zillow real estate market report shows. The report says that nationally home value appreciation is levelling off after its rapid pace in the early years of the recovery. Of the 517 metros covered by the Zillow index, 204 saw a slowdown, including major metros like Washington, DC and Cincinnati. Zillow says that the slowing appreciation is a sign that the market is returning to normal and economists have expected to see growth flattening out as the recovery continues. Even strong markets like Denver, Dallas, San Jose and San Francisco, which had double digit annual home value growth in July, saw their monthly appreciation rates ease compared with June. ‘This slight dip in home values is a sign of the times. Many people didn't think it was happening, but it is. We've been expecting to see a monthly decline as markets return to normal,’ said Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell. ‘However, this is not like the bubble bust. We're not going to see 10% declines. The market is levelling off, and it's good news, particularly for buyers, because it will ease some of the competitive pressure,’ Gudell added. She explained that slowing home values could provide more opportunities for hopeful buyers who have been waiting on the side lines for the market to cool off. ‘More homes may be coming online as home owners who have been watching strong home value growth decide to list their houses as appreciation slows and smaller gains are expected. This could help ease the constrained inventory the market has been facing for the past several months,’ she pointed out. Meanwhile, the index also shows that residential rents continue to grow at a rapid pace, up 4.2% from last July to $1,376. With no sign of rents slowing down and the potential for more homes for sale, conditions may be right for buyers to enter the market, the firm suggests. Continue reading
Auctions set to continue as popular means of selling a home in Australia
While housing market conditions remain strong in Australian cities, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, auctions will continue to be a popular way of selling a residential property, new research suggests. Over the past financial year some 25.6% of all properties advertised for sale were taken to auction across Australia’s capital cities, with Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra showing more than one third of all listings being taken to auction, according to data from real estate firm CoreLogic. There were approximately 380,000 dwellings advertised for sale across Australia’s capital cities over the 2014/2015 financial year, of which roughly 84,000 or 26% were advertised as auction sales. The proportion of auction sales has broadly been rising since the 2008/2009 financial year when auctions comprised a much lower 16% of all dwellings listed for sale. According to CoreLogic RP Data research director Tim Lawless, the rise in the proportion of residential properties taken to auction should come as no surprise, considering how hot housing market conditions are in the auction centric cities of Melbourne and Sydney. ‘When market demand is high and buyers are highly competitive, the auction process is likely to provide the best possible price on a property transaction. The opposite is true when housing market conditions are weak, auctions aren’t as popular due to fact that there is less urgency amongst buyers and the competitive bidding environment isn’t likely to be as conducive to finding the best possible price on a home,’ he said. ‘Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra have a well-established auction culture with this sale method well accepted by vendors and buyers. The other capital cities still list the vast majority of homes for sale via private treaty,’ he added. The data confirms that across the capital cities, Melbourne is still the city where auctions are the most popular method of selling a home. Some 39% of all Melbourne's residential property listings over the past financial year were taken to auction, with Sydney and Canberra not far behind at 38% and 36% respectively. However, an examination of the proportion of listings taken to auction across product types, Canberra and Sydney are both showing a larger proportion of auction listings for houses than Melbourne. The remaining capital cities are all showing auctions to be a far less popular method for selling a home. Some 16% of Adelaide listings were taken to auction over the past financial year, while 11% were taken to auction in Brisbane and Darwin and less than 5% of listings in Perth and Hobart were auctions. It is generally the more expensive or unique dwellings in these cities that are taken to auction. ‘With auction clearance rates remaining in the high 70% range across Sydney and Melbourne, as well as values continuing to show a strong rate of appreciation, we can expect the high proportion of auction listings to remain in these cities,’ Lawless explained. Looking across the suburbs, there were five suburbs, all in Sydney, where more than 95% of… Continue reading
