Tag Archives: homes
Majority of people in Ireland think house prices will continue to rise in 2016
Three out of four people in Ireland expect house prices to rise over the coming year according to a new property consumer sentiment survey. Some 20% of those surveyed said they expected prices to remain static while just 4% said prices will fall, according to the research from property website MyHome.ie. One in four of those surveyed said they planned to purchase a property in the next 12 months while just under a third said they had no plans to purchase a property and 41% said they were undecided. While the largest proportion, 47%, said house prices would increase by up to 5%, some 25% said they would increase by between 5% and 10% while 4% said they would increase by more. According to Angela Keegan managing director while the findings reflect growing consumer confidence, it was clear the Central Bank’s new lending rules were having a major impact on the market. She pointed out that 51% said the planned Central Bank review of its lending rules would make them consider holding off on a purchase for the time being while 28% said they didn’t have the funds to pay a deposit. ‘When we asked people for the factors which they believed would influence participation in the housing market, over 40% said lowering the deposit required, 38% said more stock coming on the market and 35% said confidence in the overall economy,’ she explained. ‘So really these figures support what we are hearing from estate agents on the ground. First time buyers, particularly in Dublin, are struggling to meet the new deposit and 3.5 times loan to income ratio laid down by the Central Bank last year. In the survey 13% of respondents said their application for a mortgage had been refused, which is quite high,’ she added. She believes that while the CBI measures were necessary to curb runaway inflation the supply part of the equation has continued to deteriorate and this has led to an increase in rents and the first priority of the new government should be to address this issue before putting a comprehensive housing plan in place. The research also shows that three bedroom houses remains the most sought after property type at 47%, followed by the four bedroom at 33% and the two bedrooms at 17%. Almost half of respondents, 45%, said that a garden was the most important feature in a home, followed by 22% opting for an open plan kitchen on 22% and 20% off street parking. The preference for a second hand house versus a new build was two to one. Proximity to schools or crèches was the most important amenity for 27% of respondents, followed by good public transport network for 23% and proximity to extended family for 18%. Continue reading
Property sales in Canada reach record all-time high in March
Residential property sales in Canada increased by 1.5% in March month on month while average sale prices are up over 15% year on year, the latest index shows. The month on month 1.5% sales rise to set a new all-time record in March but there were some falls, most notably a decline of 0.3% in Greater Vancouver and a fall of 1.8% in the Greater Toronto Area although both remain near record highs reached the month before. The data from the index from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) also shows that sales in March were up from the previous month in about 60% of markets, including Victoria, Chilliwack, the Okanagan Region, Edmonton, Calgary, Woodstock-Ingersoll, Kingston, Barrie and Montreal. ‘Greater Vancouver and the GTA are heading into the spring home buying season with soaring demand and a shortage of listings,’ said CREA president Cliff Iverson. ‘Meanwhile, other major urban markets in Canada are well balanced or are amply supplied,’ he added. Gregory Klump, CREA chief economist, pointed out that single family home sales in the Lower Mainland of BC and the GTA set new records for March in the range between $500,000 and $1 million as did sales above a million dollars. ‘Sales below a half a million dollars, which were not subject to recently tightened mortgage regulations, are being increasingly restrained in these markets by a short supply of listings. If current sales and listings trends persist, price gains may pick up further this spring,’ he explained. Actual, not seasonally adjusted, sales activity was up 12.2% from one year ago and set a new record for the month of March. It also stood 14.2% above the 10 year average for the month. It surpassed year ago levels among nearly two thirds of all local markets, with BC’s Lower Mainland and the GTA contributing most to the year on year increase in national activity. Sales in a number of other markets in BC and Ontario also posted double digit gains, with Chilliwack sales double what they were one year ago. The Aggregate Composite house price index rose by 9.1% year on year, the biggest gain since June 2010. For the second consecutive month, year on year price growth accelerated for all Benchmark property types tracked by the index. Two storey single family home prices posted the biggest year on year gain at 10.8% followed by townhouse/row units up 8.6%, one storey single family homes up 8.1% and apartment units up 7.3%. The data also shows that year on year price growth continues to vary widely among housing markets tracked by the index, with nine of the 11 markets tracked by the index having posted year on year price gains in March. Greater Vancouver saw growth of 23.2% while prices were up 22.1% in the Fraser Valley, up 11.6% in Greater Toronto, up 10.8% in Victoria and up 7.1% in Vancouver Island. Prices fell by 3.7% in Calgary and by 2.7% in Saskatoon. Smaller price growth… Continue reading
Poll reveals pensioners with buy to let worried about tax change
Almost three quarters of pensioners in the UK who have an investment property said they would struggle to make ends meet if they didn’t have the income from their buy to let, new research shows. Overall 72% would struggle and 81% of those aged over 65 said that their properties provide an important, even vital, boost to their retirement income, according to a poll carried out by Responsible Equity Release. The poll also found that 92% are worried about the changes to mortgage interest tax relief and the impact on the profit they make from their investment property. The buy to let tax changes coming into force have left many pensioner landlords considering whether it’s worth holding onto their property and 41% said although their buy to let property was a valuable income generator, they are now thinking seriously about selling it. ‘For many pensioners, having a buy to let property has been a life saver in this low interest environment. While their savings have languished, earning very little interest, and pension income has been hit hard by falling share prices, property income has remained strong,’ said Steve Wilkie, managing director at Responsible Equity Release. ‘Without the income boost from their buy to let, many would really be struggling to make ends meet. But the Chancellor has yet again ignored UK’s retirees when he announced changes to the way buy to let would be taxed,’ he pointed out. ‘George Osborne was so focused on taxing the rich, he forgot that a new tax on buy to let won’t just hit the wealthy, it will also hit those honest, hardworking people, who may have a single buy to let property and were just hoping it would earn them a little extra income in retirement,’ he added. Continue reading
