Tag Archives: australian
New home building in Australia set to increase in 2015 before falling off
New house building in Australia is forecast to increase for a third consecutive year in 2014/2015 with growth of 7.7%, according to the latest outlook report from the Housing Industry Association. This level of growth would take commencements to a record level of 195,936 but the HIA also believed that this is likely to represent the peak in the current cycle, although the heightened uncertainty that comes with breaking records means further growth shouldn’t be ruled out. Indeed, the HIA central forecast shows that after three consecutive years of strong growth, dwelling commencements are set to decline by 5.7% in 2015/2016 and a further 4.7% in 2016/2017. It also says that from a national perspective, renovations investment continues to disappoint and only grew by 0.5% in 2013/2014, from a decade low. Renovations activity is forecast to grow by 0.2% in 2014/2015. However, the report suggests that momentum to the renovations recovery should build in coming years and projects an increase of 2.8% in 2015/2016, followed by a growth of 3.2% in 2016/2017, taking the value of renovations to $30.3 billion. Meanwhile, the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows home prices continued to rise at a sustainable rate during the December 2014 quarter, up 1.9% on the previous quarter. Compared with the same period 12 months earlier, home prices were 6.8% higher. Established house prices increased by 7% over the past year, with other types of dwelling seeing growth of 6.1%. ‘The ABS figures show that dwelling price growth is now comfortably sustainable. In inflation adjusted terms, the rate of home price growth is now around 5% annually,’ said HIA senior economist Shane Garrett. ‘This is exactly the kind of home price growth that prevails over the long term. Australian home price growth is now striking the right balance. The housing industry has played a vital role in bringing price growth onto a more even keel,’ he explained. ‘During 2014, new home commencements reached the highest level on record. This has been a vital factor in assisting housing affordability, as well as providing crucial support for demand in the domestic economy,’ he pointed out. ‘We need to ensure that new home building is allowed to make a full contribution to improving affordability and living standards in the economy. The current design of taxation in the residential construction sector is not consistent with this goal. We need to see greater urgency in terms of easing the tax burden on new housing, and we look forward to potential remedies being included in the forthcoming Tax White Paper,’ he added. Continue reading
Number of new homes being built in the UK up 10% since 2013
New figures show a rise in the numbers of new homes being built across the UK, with starts now 10% above 2013 and at their highest annual total since 2007. Starts on new homes in 2014 totalled 137,010 overall and in London, starts in 2013 to 2014 were the highest since 2005 to 2006, according to the figures released by the Department of Communities and Local Government. Overall 700,000 new homes have been delivered since the end of 2009 and over 200,000 of which have been since the launch of the government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme. ‘We inherited a broken housing market in which builders couldn’t build, lenders wouldn’t lend and buyers couldn’t buy. We’ve done a lot to help get the housing industry back on its legs, but there’s more to do,’ said Housing Minister Brandon Lewis. ‘These figures show we’re on track and turning this around. Now, housebuilding levels are at their highest annual total since 2007, and first time buyers are getting on the property ladder in record numbers. This is thanks to our long term economic plan and efforts to tackle the deficit we inherited, which are keeping interest rates at their record low and mean now is the best time on record to take out a mortgage,’ he added. The department pointed out that the 2008 economic crash devastated the house building industry, bringing building levels to their lowest since the 1920s and leading to the loss of a quarter of a million jobs but the government has prioritised limited financial resources to house building as a key part of its long term economic plan. This includes helping people onto the housing ladder and over 77,000 households have become homeowners with a fraction of the deposit they would normally require thanks to the Help to Buy scheme, with developers building more as a direct result. According to Lewis, reforms to the planning system has put power back in the hands of local people to have a say over the future development of their area, meaning support for local house building has increased dramatically over the past six years, and permission was granted on 240,000 homes in the year to October. The figures also show that nearly 217,000 affordable homes have been delivered since 2010 and £19.5 billion public and private funding has already been invested in affordable house building, with plans for a further £38 billion which will help ensure a further 275,000 new affordable homes are provided between 2015 and 2020. Lewis also pointed to efforts to keep interest rates low and mortgages more affordable and said that the numbers of first time buyers are at a seven year high, with the Mortgage Advice Bureau recently reporting now as the best time on record to take out a mortgage. Continue reading
Finding the right property often relies on gut instinct, survey finds
When looking for a new home many people have a gut feeling about whether or not they can see themselves living in a particular property, a new survey has found. Continue reading
