Tag Archives: australian
Rental values in prime central London down to lowest level for a year
Annual rental growth in prime central London fell to 2.4% in September, which was the lowest level it has been since September last year, the latest data shows. The report from international real estate firm Knight Frank also shows that the number of tenancies agreed in the three months to August fell 5.9% versus 2014 while prime gross rental yields remained at 2.96%. The slowdown came against the backdrop of jittery financial markets, with nerves over the state of the Chinese economy spreading to commodity and mining stocks, compounded by declines among carmakers, according to Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank. ‘This current overriding mood of uncertainty means companies are more hesitant about recruiting and are more conservative with relocation budgets for senior executives, which has dampened demand in the prime central London lettings market,’ he said. ‘As a result, the number of tenancies agreed in the three months to August fell 5.9% compared to the previous year and the number of viewings declined 10.2%. Such declines suggest the trend for falling rental value growth will persist in the short term,’ he added. He pointed out that the trend is less marked in both lower and higher price brackets. ‘Demand among younger professionals remains strong while demand at the super prime level of £5,000 per week and above has been buoyed by the fact tenants have moved across from the sales market due to last December’s stamp duty increase,’ explained Bill. Continue reading
British still confident about house price growth, latest sentiment report shows
British households are still confident about the outlook for house price growth even although there has been a sharp increase in the proportion of who are expecting an interest rate rise in the next 12 months. Continued talk over the likely timing of an interest rate rise has seen a spike in the number of people who expect both mortgage and savings rates to be higher in 12 months’ time, according to the quarterly Halifax Housing Market Confidence Tracker report. The data shows that 58% now believe mortgage interest rates will be higher in 12 months compared to 48% the second quarter of the year and 35% expect savings interest rates will be higher, up from 26% in the previous quarter. Alongside annual house price inflation running at 9% and the average house price standing at £204,674, house price optimism remains high at +63 in the third quarter compared to +64 in the second quarter with 68% now expecting the average property prices to be higher in 12 months’ time and just 5% expecting it to be lower. The figures from the report also shows that there has been a further fall in the proportion of who think it will be a good time to buy in 12 months’ time, from 56% in the second quarter to 53% in the third quarter. But despite the apparent stability in house price expectations, there has also been a drop in selling sentiment, with the proportion who believe the next 12 months will be a good time to sell, falling seven percentage points to 52% from 59% in the second quarter. This brings positive selling sentiment back down to the levels seen in early 2015 and it is now at its lowest level for a year. Regionally, lower levels of people in London report a positive buying sentiment as just 40% said they thought the next 12 months would be a good time buy compared to Scotland at 77% and the North of England at 58%. Conversely, in terms of positive selling sentiment, London sees 64% saying ‘the next 12 months will be a good time sell, compared to 48% in Scotland, 47% in the North of England and 43% in the Midlands. ‘While economic optimism appears to have tailed off in the last quarter, house prices have continued to increase and the underlying pace of house price growth is strong. This has helped to maintain the expectation that house prices will continue to rise, despite more people expecting interest rate rises in the next 12 months,’ said Craig McKinlay, Halifax mortgage director. ‘The factors behind the upward pressure on house prices include the continued lack of second-hand properties for sale on the market and the availability of low mortgage rates. Without an increase in supply it’s likely to mean that house price growth continues to be robust in the short term, even if interest rates eventually begin to increase,’ he added. The research also found… Continue reading
Property prices gap between Sydney and other cities in Australia widens
The gap between property price growth rates in the eight Australian capital cities has widened, according to the latest figures to be published. The data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that said over the year to June 2015, the price index rose by 9.8% with a 4.7% increase occurring during the June 2015 quarter. Sydney led the way with price growth of 18.9% far more than any other capital city. Next Melbourne with growth of 7.8% but all other cities were some way behind, opening u a considerable gap. Brisbane saw price growth of 2.9%, followed closely by Canberra with growth of 2.8%, then Adelaide with 2.7% and Hobart with 1.5%. But in the other cities prices have fallen year on year. Perth saw a fall of 1.2% and Darwin a decline of 1.8%. Annual house price growth was 10.5% with prices in the semidetached home sector increasing by 7.5% over the same period and according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA), the voice of Australia’s residential building industry, the variation in price growth across the capital cities is remarkable. ‘On the one hand, price growth is very robust in both Sydney and Melbourne, while prices have actually eased back a little in cities like Perth and Darwin,’ said HIA Senior Economist, Shane Garrett. ‘The wide divergence of dwelling price growth across the capitals is indicative of the mixed economic conditions across Australia. It highlights the challenges in prescribing ‘one size fits all’ policy responses to the housing market,’ he explained. ‘The strength of dwelling price growth in Sydney is receiving much attention. However, the upturn in Sydney prices follows a decade which saw the city lag far behind the other seven capitals in terms of price growth,’ he pointed out. ‘Price pressures ultimately represent the inadequate response of supply to much stronger demand conditions. We need to see more flexibility in the planning process and in the release of new residential land in order to take the heat out of prices,’ he added. Continue reading
