Tag Archives: california
Metro area home prices soar in US with first plus $1 million median value recorded
Home prices are continuing to rise in the United States with the median value for a single family home reaching more than $1 million in a metro location for the first time. The record prices was reached in San Jose, California, while the vast majority of metro areas seeing prices rise in the second quarter of 2016, the data from the National Association of Realtors shows. Overall the median existing single family home price increased in 83% of measured markets, with 148 out of 178 metropolitan statistical areas showing gains based on closed sales in the second quarter compared with the second quarter of 2015. Just 29 metros recorded lower median prices from a year earlier and 25 saw double digit increases. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, a faster pace of home sales amidst languishing inventory levels has pushed home prices higher in most metro areas during the second quarter. ‘Steadily improving local job markets and mortgage rates teetering close to all-time lows brought buyers out in force in many large and middle tier cities,’ he said. ‘However, with homebuilding activity still failing to keep up with demand and not enough current homeowners putting their home up for sale, prices continued their strong ascent and in many markets at a rate well above income growth,’ he added. The national median existing single family home price in the second quarter was $240,700, up 4.9% from the second quarter of 2015, which was previously the peak quarterly median sales price. The median price during the first quarter of this year increased 6.1% from the first quarter of 2015. Total existing home sales, including single family and condos, rose 3.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.5 million in the second quarter from 5.3 million in the first quarter of this year and are 4.2% higher than the 5.28 million pace during the second quarter of 2015. ‘Primarily from repeat buyers moving up or trading down, existing sales increased each month last quarter and could’ve been even higher if not for a few speedbumps. Closings were slowed a bit by meagre supply levels and home prices in many areas that are still rising too fast,’ Yun explained. At the end of the second quarter, there were 2.12 million existing homes available for sale, which was below the 2.25 million homes for sale at the end of the second quarter in 2015. The average supply during the second quarter was 4.7 months, down from 5.1 months a year ago. According to Yun, without enough new construction being built, existing inventory seriously failed to keep up with the growing demand for buying. As a result, homes typically stayed on the market for around a month throughout the second quarter and over 40% of listings sold at or above list price, with June being the highest share since NAR began tracking in December 2012. Yun pointed out that many listings in… Continue reading
Bling could be back in Dubai property market
Some of the bling that once characterised the Dubai real estate market is set to return with celebrities seeking to build a new breed of luxury villas and over 50 shelved projects being resurrected. From the ordinary buyer and seller perspective some 51 real estate projects valued at AED12 billion are being revived with government backed funding initiatives which means that developers registered with the Dubai Land Department can get building again. Some 12 projects worth AED2 billion are underway and along with others set for starts in 2016 the initiative will see developers like Emaar Properties, Al Wasl and ICD-Brookfield working on projects. To get the funding the projects need to have adequate infrastructure planned or already in place, a properly managed escrow trust account for off plan sales under Dubai real estate law, a technical report showing that at least 60% of the construction is completed and at least 60% of the project has been sold. Meanwhile, the famous Palm Jumeirah is set to be rejuvenated with reports that leading celebrities and wealthy individuals are looking to build luxury villas on the manmade island. This could see a series of lavish Los Angeles style super villas being built, according to property agent Anne Ogilvie, Palm luxury sales specialist at Luxhabitat. She believes that wealthy investors are set to return to Dubai. ‘These end users look to buy plots on the remaining unbuilt fronds in order to build super villas, akin to those in California or Miami. We expect a sizeable number of them to build and then introduce them to the secondary market,’ she said. However, there are a number of issues associated with development on Palm Jumeirah. Some owners are not happy that fees for extensions to their existing villas have increased by 233%. Under the terms and conditions laid out in developer Nakheel’s Guidelines and Procedures for Villa Extension Applications, residents are required to pay an application fee as part of the approval process before they can start construction. According to property experts this means that for an extension of 1,000 square foot an owner would end up paying over $100,000 to Nakheel but on Palm Jumeirah the fee for a 1,000 square foot extension could be over half a million dollars. Continue reading
