Tag Archives: australia
New homes sales in Australia bounced back in March after a decline the previous month
Total new home sales in Australia bounced back in March with growth of 8.9% following February’s sharp decline of 5.3%, the latest housing data shows. Sales of detached houses increased by 7% and sales of multi-units were up 16.3%, according to the new home sales report from the Housing Industry Association which covers the country’s largest volume builders. The data also shows that new home sales increased by 2.8% in the first quarter of the year but were 1.7% lower than the same quarter in 2015. It is another positive update for the residential construction sector, according to HIA economist Diwa Hopkins and she pointed out that the bounce in March has moderated the downward trend that emerged in the second half of 2015. ‘The current level and trajectory of new home sales and approvals provides a strong signal that new home building activity in 2016 will remain strong,’ she added. She also pointed out that a cut to the official cash rate will also provide additional support to the residential construction sector. A breakdown of the figures show that detached house sales increased in four of the five mainland states, up 13.2% in Queensland, up 9.8% in Western Australia, up 8.3% in New South Wales , up 2.8% in Victoria but down 6.9% in South Australia . Quarter on quarter detached house sales were up 11.2% in Victoria, up 5.8% in Western Australia and up 4.3% in Queensland. Sales declined over this period by 4% in New South Wales and down 5.7% in South Australia. Meanwhile, in an encouraging update for the new home building industry, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that a total of 19,371 homes were approved for construction in March this year, some 3.7% more than in February. Approvals rose for both multi-unit and detached homes, increasing by 2.4% and 5.1% respectively. Hopkins pointed out that despite the increase during March, the broader trend in approvals is that of decline from the record levels during the middle of last year. During the March 2016 quarter, the number of approvals was lower than in the previous quarter, by 1.6% and also 8.8% lower than 12 months previously. The HIA expects that the number of new homes commencing construction during 2016 to remain very strong at around 200,000, albeit less than 2015’s record of 220,000. A breakdown of the figures shows that during March total seasonally adjusted new home building approvals saw the largest increase in South Australia with a rise of 8.7%, were up 7.3% in Western Australia, up 6.9% in New South Wales, up 5.7% in Queensland and up 3.7% in Victoria but fell by 18.7% in Tasmania. In trend terms, approvals saw a 19% increase in the Australian Capital Territory and an 18.4% fall in the Northern Territory. Continue reading
Over a third of UK landlords experience problems with tenants abandoning their property
Some 36% of landlords in the UK have had property abandoned by tenants before, according to new figures from the largest landlord association. Abandonment occurs when a tenant moves out of a property before the tenancy has ended, without informing their landlord. The issue can be costly as it often occurs when outstanding rent is owed. However, the tenant still has a legal right to return and take up residence at any time and it is a criminal offence for landlords to do anything to prevent the continuation of the tenancy. The only option for a landlord is to go through the legal process for regaining possession of an abandoned property which can take months. While on average a third of landlords have had property abandoned before, more landlords in the North East of England have experienced the problem than anywhere else across the UK, with 58% having had a property abandoned. Some 51% of landlords in the North have also experienced the issue. At the other end of the scale, 31% of landlords in the South West of England said they have had a property abandoned before, the lowest proportion across the UK, with 33% of London landlords having had to deal with the problem. The figures are released as the Housing and Planning Act which contains measures to tackle the problem recently received Royal Ascent. ‘The process of recovering an abandoned property is too long, frustrating, and costly for landlords at the moment,’ said Richard Lambert, chief executive officer of the National Landlords Association. ‘Many people will be shocked by just how common this problem is, and landlords will be relieved to know that the Housing and Planning Act will create a new process to deal with the issue, giving them far greater security and peace of mind when recovering properties they believe to have been abandoned,’ he added. The Housing and Planning Act also contains proposals to allow local councils to keep hold of the proceeds they make when carrying out landlord prosecutions as well as introducing stiffer civil penalties and banning orders for landlords found breaking the law. ‘We’ve long argued that councils should be able to hold on to the money they make when carrying out landlord prosecutions as this better enables them to implement long term enforcement strategies to tackle the rogues,’ Lambert explained. ‘The Government missed the chance to apply these changes in the Queen Speech, but we hope they waste no further time in giving councils these important powers,’ he added. Richard Blanco, who had a property in Tottenham, London, abandoned a few years ago, said that one morning he received a call from a concerned neighbour saying the door to the property had been left wide open. ‘It turns out that my tenant just upped and left without any warning, taking his dog with him,’ he added. As it is a criminal offence to end a tenancy without going through the proper legal motions, he… Continue reading
Housing market activity in Auckland, New Zealand, slowed in March
Auckland house sales activity quietened in April after a busy March, with only a marginal increase in the average price, and sales numbers down significantly. The latest data from agents Barfoot & Thompson shows that the average price in April was $878,599, up 0.8% from March and up 8.6% compared to April 2015. ‘Auckland house prices have pulled back from breaking into new territory. For the past year we have been looking at monthly year on year increases of around 12%,’ said Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson. He pointed out that sales numbers at 944 for the month were also down significantly, falling 29.6% on those for March and down 11.8% on those for April last year. It means that in April the firm sold the lowest number of homes we have sold in an April in four years, and the likely cause of this was caution around current pricing and the low number of properties on the market, restricting choice. The data also shows that the median sales price for the month at $820,000 was up 2.8% on that for March and also up 8.8% on that for April last year. ‘In part, the climb in the midway price point (median price) can be attributed to the low number of homes sold in the month for under $500,000. In April only 7.1% of all homes sold were in this price category compared to 10.9% in March,’ Thompson said. He also pointed out that while house sales above the $1 million mark were the second highest for seven months, overall, activity in April could best be described as restrained. New listings in April at 1,496 were down 20.2% on those for March and down 5.3% on those for April last year. April’s new listings were the lowest in an April in three years. ‘For the third consecutive month the number of properties on our books at month end declined, and at 2,846 fell 8% below where they were at the end of March. The number of homes on our books at the end of April was the lowest they have been in an April for more than 15 years,’ Thompson explained. ‘While choice across all price segments was low, interest in top end homes remained high, and 355 properties, or 37.6%of all homes sold, attracted a price in excess of $1 million,’ he added. Continue reading
