Tag Archives: australasia
More homes selling in Australia for over $1 million
Fewer lower prices houses are being sold in Australia with the residential property market seeing more the number of $1 million plus home sales soaring. Over the 12 months to June 2016 some 14% of all house sales and 7.3% of all unit sales were at a price of at least $1 million, according to the data from real estate firm Corelogic. To put these figures into perspective, just five years ago 7.5% of all house sales and 4% of all unit sales were within this price range. Capital cities have predictably seen a much higher proportion of sales of at least $1 million over the past year. Across all house sales, more than one in five sales, 20.9%, were for at least $1 million compared to 8.9% of all unit sales. In the regional areas of the country housing sales prices are typically lower than they are in capital cities, the report points out, while also showing that the difference between the proportion of house and unit sales of at least $1 million is much narrower. In regional areas that units are only located in larger regional markets and often are positioned in relatively expensive in waterfront locations. The historical data shows that often the proportion of unit sales at or above $1 million has been above that for houses and over the past year, 3.3% of all regional house sales and 3% of all unit sales were at least $1 million. Over the past 10 years in particular there has been a substantial rise in the proportion of sales of at least $1 million. In Sydney over the past year more than two out of every five house sales was at least $1 million and in Melbourne it was one in five. Sydney had a higher proportion of total unit sales of at least $1 million than the proportion of house sales at that price point in each city except for Melbourne. The report also points out that as the supply of affordable homes selling has declined significantly over recent years, an increasing proportion of stock is selling for a seven figure sum. It adds that demand for premium housing and within the most expensive areas of the country remains buoyant which suggests that over the coming year the proportion of sales at a price point of at least $1 million will continue to rise. Continue reading
Record median home prices recorded in four regions in New Zealand
Four regions in New Zealand saw record sale prices in July with the average median value up to $505,000, according to the latest data to be published. It means that the median sale price increased by $5,000, just $1,000 short of the record median price reached in May 2016, the data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand shows. The Waikato/Bay of Plenty region recorded its eighth record median sale price in nine months, reaching $450,000, up 2.7% on June 2016, while the median price in Auckland reached $825,000, up 0.5%. Northland reached $376,000, up 4.4% and Manawatu/Wanganui reached $265,000, up 6.4%. The data also shows that inventory continues to fall rapidly nationwide, with a 33% decline in properties available for sale year on year and six regions seeing falls of greater than 40%. Wellington and Hawke’s Bay each have less than 10 weeks of supply available, with Waikato/Bay of Plenty at just on 10 weeks supply. At the same time, the number of residential dwelling sales for July 2016 was 7,299, a drop of 7% on June. Sales volumes also fell 10% compared to July 2015, with sales for Auckland falling just over 20% compared to July last year. ‘Prices continue to rise in many regions, showing that demand is still firm. Sales volumes remain below previous periods, as the continued shortage of supply impacts buyers, who are struggling to find properties to buy,’ said REINZ spokesperson Bryan Thomson. ‘We will watch market reaction with interest as the expected increase in listing numbers during the spring and summer selling period become available and the market assesses the impact of the recently announced LVR rule changes, the approval or otherwise of the Auckland Unitary Plan and possible interest rate cut,’ he explained. ‘We understand that it must get very confusing for people with so much data available on the real estate market. REINZ data provides the most up to date and complete set of detailed numbers on national sale prices and trends, plus the factors that underpin them. The key thing is to watch the trends over time, and particularly the seasonally adjusted numbers, as they take month on month changes out of the equation and focus on how the market is really moving,’ he added. A breakdown of the figures shows that the national median house price rose $40,000 or 9% to $505,000 from July 2015 to July 2016. Central Otago Lakes recorded the largest percentage increase in median price compared to July 2015, at 32%, followed by Waikato/Bay of Plenty at 26% and Northland at 16%. Auckland prices up, volumes come off, inventory stays tight Compared to July 2015 the median price across the Auckland region rose by $90,000, up 12% to a new record high of $825,000. On a seasonally adjusted basis Auckland's median price rose 1% compared to June. Although sales volumes in the Auckland region fell 8% compared to June, and fell 20% compared to July… Continue reading
