Tag Archives: australian
Cash sales of homes in the United States falling, latest figures show
Cash sales made up 34.6% of total home sales in the United States in March 2015, down from 39% in the same month in 2014, according to the latest data available. The year on year share has fallen each month since January 2013, making March 2015 the 27th consecutive month of declines, the report from real estate form CoreLogic shows. Month on month the cash sales share fell by 2.8% compared with February but the firm pointed out that due to seasonality in the housing market, cash sales share comparisons should be made on a year on year basis. The cash sales share peak occurred in January 2011 when cash transactions made up 46.5% of total home sales nationally. Prior to the housing crisis, the cash sales share of total home sales averaged approximately 25%t. The report predicts that if the cash sales share continues falling at the same rate it did in March 2015, the share should decrease to 25% by the middle of 2016. A breakdown of the figures shows that real estate owned (REO) sales had the largest cash sales share in March 2015 at 56.2% followed by resales at 34.5%, while short sales accounted for 31.6% and newly constructed homes 14.9. While the percentage of REO sales that were all-cash transactions remained high, REO transactions made up only 8.4% of all sales in March. In January 2011, when the cash sales share was at its peak, REO sales made up 23.9% of total home sales. Resales make up the majority of home sales at about 80% and therefore have the biggest impact on the total cash sales share. Florida had the largest share of all cash sales at 51.8 followed by Alabama at 50%, New York at 46.5%, New Mexico at 42.2% and Michigan at 41.3%. Of the nation’s largest 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population, Philadelphia had the highest share of cash sales at 60.7% followed by West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, Florida at 59.9%, North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida at 59.5%, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida at 59.3% and Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida at 58.3%. The data also shows that Colorado Springs had the lowest cash sales share at 16.1%. Continue reading
UK affordable housing target exceeded as next five year target is announced
More than 260,000 affordable homes have been delivered in the UK since April 2010 and a further 275,000 will be built in the next five years, it has been confirmed. In the last 12 months some 60,000 affordable homes were delivered, a rise of 63% on the previous 12 months, according to UK Housing Minister Brandon Lewis. He said that there will be £38 billion public and private investment for the Affordable Homes Programme between now and 2020 and he added that the 2011 to 2015 programme has exceeded expectation with 186,000 affordable homes since it started, some 16,000 more than originally planned. ‘This government is determined to ensure anyone who works hard and aspires to own their own home should have the opportunity to turn their dream into a reality. Our affordable housebuilding efforts are exceeding our ambitions and delivering more than 260,000 affordable homes,’ said Lewis. ‘It’s a boost to families across the country, providing them with new quality homes that are available at an affordable rent or to buy through our shared ownership scheme. This is real progress but we know there is more to do. That’s why £38 billion of public and private investment will be made available over the next five years to deliver 275,000 extra affordable homes, the fastest rate of delivery for 20 years,’ he explained. The Affordable Homes Programme includes social rented homes, affordable rented homes and affordable home ownership schemes, and is a key part of the government’s long term economic plan. The data shows that nearly a third of affordable homes delivered last year were in London. Council areas that have seen some of the biggest numbers of affordable homes delivered since 2010, include Cornwall with 3,750, Birmingham with 3,460, Wiltshire with 3,420, Leeds with 2,360, Liverpool with 2,270 and Manchester with 2,160. Continue reading
Increase in lending for new homes across the board in Australia
There has been an increase in lending for new homes in Australia to both owner occupiers and investors, according to the latest housing figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data shows that there was a 4.3% increase in the number of owner occupier loans for construction, while the equivalent number of loans for the purchase of a new property rose by 1.6% in April. The figures include an increase in lending for investment in new residential dwellings which took the annual value to in excess of $9 billion for the first time ever. Harley Dale, chief economist of the Housing Industry Association, said the number of first home buyer loans for owner occupiers remains low, but is running at its highest annual level in a year, although that of course excludes those first time buyers entering the investment market. He also pointed out that the number of trade-up buyer loans reached its highest level since prior to the global financial crisis and described the data as a positive update for the new home building industry. A regional breakdown of the figures, however, shows wide disparities in new housing conditions. The total number of owner occupier loans for new housing increased in six out of eight states and territories. Over the three months to April this year the seasonally adjusted estimate of new loans increased by 4.9% in New South Wales, by 4.7% in Victoria, by 3.4% in Queensland, by 1.6% in South Australia and by 20.6% in the Northern Territory. The number of loans fell over the same period by 4.4% in Western Australia, by 10.3% in Tasmania and by 8.7% in the Australian Capital Territory. Continue reading
