Tag Archives: australia
Affordability for home buyers in Australia eases in second quarter of 2016
Affordability for home buyers in Australia eased back in second quarter of 2016 as price growth returned to the residential real estate market. Overall affordability fell by 3.7% and was 2.1% less than the same quarter of 2015, according to the latest report from the Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia’s residential building industry. The capital city housing affordability index fell by 4.3% during the quarter, while the regional market index experienced a 1.9% improvement. ‘Home price growth moderated in the early part of the year and the index showed an improvement in affordability during the March 2016 quarter. However, in the June quarter dwelling price growth returned and the index reverted to the level we saw at the end of 2015,’ said Geordan Murray, HIA economist. ‘While there was a decline in the headline index tracking the national picture, there was substantial variation around the country with substantial differences between states, and also differences between capital city markets and regional markets,’ he pointed out. He explained that the geographic variation in affordability is most evident in the comparison between Melbourne and Perth. Over the last year, the median dwelling price in Perth has fallen by 4.7% while Melbourne’s has grown by 11.5%. This has seen the affordability index for Perth increase by 6.2% over the last year, while the index for Melbourne has fallen by 6.2%. ‘These differences in affordability align with the relative economic performance of these two states. The Western Australian economy is navigating the tail end of the mining boom which has seen conditions in the local labour market deteriorate and consequently the rate of population growth has fallen quite sharply,’ Murray said. ‘In contrast, Victoria has experienced a healthy level of growth in the labour force and continues to record the strongest rate of population growth in the country,’ he added. A breakdown of the figures show that during the June 2016 quarter, improvements in affordability were observed in three capital cities with the largest improvement in Perth with growth of 3.2%, Darwin up 2.9% and Hobart up 2.2%. Affordability worsened in the remaining five capital cities with the largest decline recorded in Melbourne with a decline of 7.4%, followed by Canberra down 5.7%, Sydney down 1.6%, Adelaide down 1.3% and Brisbane down 1%. Continue reading
Lack of suitable homes prevents over 55s in UK from moving
More than 500,000 home owners aged 55 and over in the UK want to move but do not because of lack of suitable housing, new research has found. Some 19% in this age group considered moving in the past two years but have not done so while 23% who considered moving said that a lack of suitable housing was the main reason they did not do so. The stress and upheaval of moving as well as not wanting to be away from friends, neighbours and community are also obstacles to moving, according to the annual home owner survey conducted by YouGov for the Home Owners Alliance and BLP Insurance. The survey report says that with the recent Brexit decision, it is uncertain what the impact on new housing is likely to be but this does not take away from the fact that tackling the UK housing shortage remains a pressing concern. So called last time buyers, we have been told, could help ease the housing crisis in the UK, it suggests. If older home owners living in homes that are under occupied moved to smaller properties it would free up more housing stock. There are an estimated 11.4 million homeowners age 55 and over. Overall some 30% of home owners aged 55 and over said stress and upheaval are reasons for not moving compared to 21% of all home owners while 23% did not want to move away from friends compared with 17%. Prices are not as much of a barrier at 22% compared to 31%. When thinking about a future move, top priorities are similar regardless of age. Good build quality is important to 71%, spacious rooms 72% and parking 69%. However, compared with UK home owners generally, a greater proportion of home owners age 55 or older identify availability of parking at 77% to 69%, low running costs at 70% compared to 59%, proximity to shops at 66% to 55%, good transport links 56% to 47%. ‘The recent Brexit decision means we are now in the midst of uncertain times and new housing is likely to be a victim. Government needs to focus efforts on negotiating a European exit but they must not drop the ball in delivering new housing that meets the needs of last time buyers,’ said Paula Higgins, chief executive officer of the Home Owners Alliance. ‘House builders can't be allowed to sit on their hands and land bank. The government needs to keep them building and building houses that meet the needs of last time buyers as well as first time buyers,’ she added. According to Kim Vernau, chief executive officer of, BLP Insurance, the issues highlighted in the survey that face last time buyers are as acute as those issues encountered by first time buyers. ‘If we wish to provide the required quality of housing that addresses these concerns we desperately need an appropriate mix of well-designed homes alongside adequate local infrastructure… Continue reading
Capital city property prices up just 0.5% in June with five seeing values fall
There was a 0.5% rise in capital city dwelling values in June with Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart recording another substantial rise but five cities recorded falls. Higher dwelling values across Australia’s two largest capital cities continued to push the CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index to new record highs, with dwelling values across the combined capital cities rising by 0.5% in June to be 8.3% higher over the past 12 months. The June results continued to show a rebound in housing market conditions after CoreLogic reported weaker results for the final quarter of 2015 when the combined capitals’ index was down 1.4%. However, the pace of capital gains in June was substantially lower than the April and May results when CoreLogic reported a 1.7%, and 1.6% month on month lift in capital city dwelling values. ‘The monthly growth rate reduction is likely to be very much welcomed by state and federal government policy makers and regulators who may be concerned about a sustained rebound in capital gains,’ said CoreLogic Asia Pacific research director Tim Lawless. He pointed out that home values in Sydney have been rising for four years, and have increased by a cumulative 59% over this time frame. Melbourne dwelling values have been rising for the same length of time and have moved 41% higher over the growth cycle to date. The combined capitals’ headline result was driven by a strong 1.2% rise in Sydney dwelling values, and a 0.8% gain across Melbourne’s housing market. Hobart values also showed strong conditions with dwelling values moving 1.8% higher over the month. A breakdown of the figure shows that in Sydney prices increases 1.2% month on month, 6.8% quarter on quarter and 11.3% year on year to a median price of $780,000 while in Melbourne they increased by 0.8%, 3.5% and 11.5% to $587,500. In Hobart growth was 1.8%, 1.9% and 6.2% to a median price of $341,500. In Brisbane prices fell 0.1% month on month but were still up 2.2% quarter on quarter and 5.3% year on year to a median price of $475,000 while in Adelaide they fell 1.3% month on month but were up 0.8% quarter on quarter and 2.2% year on year to $420,000. In Perth prices have fallen across the board, down 0.8% month on month, down 3% quarter on quarter and down 4.7% year on year to $505,000 with a similar story in Darwin with a month on month fall of 1.6% a quarter on quarter fall of 2.5% and a year on year fall of 1.1% to a median price of $510,000. Canberra is seeing prices fall for the first time in over a year. Values were down 1.1% month on month but still up 2.6% quarter on quarter and 3.9% year on year to a median price of $560,000. ‘While the higher rates of capital gains in Sydney and Melbourne can be tied back to strong economic conditions, and high rates of population… Continue reading
