Tag Archives: house
Hong Kong property sales fall amid call for help for young buyers
Residential property sales in Hong Kong decreased by 28.2% in March due to the introduction of a seventh round of market tightening measures, according to the latest analysis report. The move by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is supressing the housing market amid calls for more housing to be built to measures put in place to help young first time buyers, says the report from international real estate firm Knight Frank. It also shows that mass residential sales below HK£10 million dropped almost 30% but prime residential sales above this price level saw a lower fall at 16.2%. The report points out that the tightening is being felt the most at HK$7 million and below. Despite the fall in sales, prices in the mass residential market increased by another 2.6% in March while luxury property prices remained stable. ‘To tackle the housing problem in Hong Kong, Knight Frank believes that the government should not focus on supressing housing demand, but effectively increase housing supply and provide assistance to first time home buyers,’ the report says. ‘The government should ease restrictions on mortgage lending for first time and young home buyers, perhaps by following the example of Singapore which has applied age conditions on housing mortgage loans,’ it explains. The report also shows that the office sales market was more active in March compared to February. Decentralised areas in particular saw some large transactions. It says that the latest initiatives launched by the Chinese government, including the establishment of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the proposed Shenzhen to Hong Kong through train will inevitably increase capital flow in the region. ‘Hong Kong being a global financial hub situated at the cross roads of Asia is set to benefit from this. We expect this to translate into increased commercial activity which will stimulate demand for office space from related industries taking the opportunity to expand their business in the city,’ the report points out. ‘As a result we remain optimistic about the office market in Hong Kong. Given the limited supply of office space and sustained demand from Chinese firms and certain industries, we expect Grade A office rents to rise by up to 5% during the year,’ it adds. Continue reading
Moving home costs in UK at highest level since 2007, study shows
The average cost of moving home in the UK has risen by 5% to £8,689 in 2014 from £8,258 in 2013, its highest level since 2007, new research shows. The increase in the past year of £431 was mostly driven by fees paid to estate agents and surveyors, both of which accounted for £386 of the total rise in moving costs, according to the study from Lloyds Bank. As a result of this rise in costs and an increase in home sales in the last year, the total amount spent on moving has grown sharply by 15% in 2014, from £6.5 billion in 2013, to £7.5 billion in 2014. The rising cost of moving is driven by a 7% or £266 increase in estate agency fees and surveyors costs growing by 22% to £665 in the final quarter of 2014 compared to the same period a year earlier. Over the same period, conveyancing fees increased by 7% or £74 to £1,074. The average stamp duty paid fell marginally by 1% or £28 to £1,973. Many of these costs have increased as a result of higher house prices in 2014 compared to the year earlier, the report points out. The research also shows that stamp duty now accounts for 23% of all moving costs, whilst the proportion taken up by estate agency fees is 45%. In the 10 years since 2004, the total cost of moving has increased by 15% or £1,137, the same as the increase in house prices. In this period, average gross annual earnings have increased by 24%, meaning the total cost of moving as a percentage of earnings has decreased marginally, from 28% to 26%. During this period both house price and earnings growth lagged behind the increase in the consumer price index which rose by 30%. ‘With the cost of moving at its highest level since 2007, people struggling to cover the costs should look to make savings wherever they can. The recent changes in stamp duty should help buyers reduce their overall cost of moving, which can be a significant boost,’ said Andy Hulme, mortgages director at Lloyds Bank. Just four regions have seen the average cost of moving fall in the past year. They include Yorkshire and the Humber where home movers have seen moving cost fall by 8% to £5,875, North East and Wales both saw a fall of 7% and the North West it was down by 1%. On the other hand, for home movers in the London average moving costs has grown by 11% to £23,116, the most expensive moving bill in the UK. Whilst, in Northern Ireland there has been a 22% or £929 increase to £5,181 which is still the lowest in the UK. The cost of moving in London equates to 53% of the average gross full time earnings of £43,519 of London residents. In Northern Ireland this proportion is just under 19%, again, the lowest in the UK. Continue reading
Negative equity worse in some parts of US despite home values rising
Home prices are rising in the US but the rate of home owners who owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth is stalled and even worsening in some places for the first time since the recession, according to a new report. Negative equity is going up in 21 of the largest 50 housing markets, indicating many underwater homes are not rising in value, says the latest review from real estate data firm Zillow. More than a quarter of mortgaged homes are underwater in some markets in Florida and the Midwest. The national negative equity rate is 16.9% yet home values rose 5.9% nationally last year. The report also shows that the at the lower end of the market homes are far more likely to be worth less than the balance of their mortgage and the analysis suggests that is because low end homes are losing value. At the peak of the real estate crisis, more than 15 million home owners owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth, putting them in negative equity. Foreclosures, short sales and rapidly rising home values freed nearly half of those home owners, but now that trend has reversed in many metros. Indeed, three years into the recovery, home values overall continued to recover while owners of the lowest valued homes, those most likely to be stuck in negative equity, were left behind. ‘Higher negative equity rates have become the new normal. We've long been expecting the negative equity rate to fall more slowly as home value growth also slows, and unfortunately that's exactly what we're seeing,’ said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries. ‘Compounding the problem is the fact that negative equity is decidedly not an equal opportunity predator, and looms larger over the bottom 10% of homes, where home owners are least prepared to withstand the assault,’ he added. In Atlanta some 49% of homes in the bottom third of home values are in negative equity, compared to 11% of mortgaged homes in the highest valued third. Among large metros, Virginia Beach at 28.3%, Jacksonville at 27%, Las Vegas at 24.4% and Atlanta at 26.1% had the highest rates of negative equity. Continue reading
