Tag Archives: real-estate
US home sales maintain recent momentum, up 6% from April 2015
Despite ongoing inventory shortages and faster price growth, existing home sales in the United States have sustained their recent momentum and moved higher for the second consecutive month. The latest data from the National Association of Realtors shows a surge in sales in the Midwest and a decent increase in the Northeast which offset smaller declines in the South and West. Total existing home sales, which are completed transactions that include single family homes, town homes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 1.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million in April from an upwardly revised 5.36 million in March. After last month's gain, sales are now up 6% from April 2015. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, April's sales increase signals slowly building momentum for the housing market this spring. ‘Primarily driven by a convincing jump in the Midwest, where home prices are most affordable, sales activity overall was at a healthy pace last month as very low mortgage rates and modest seasonal inventory gains encouraged more households to search for and close on a home,’ he said. ‘Except for in the West, where supply shortages and stark price growth are hampering buyers the most, sales are meaningfully higher than a year ago in much of the country,’ he added. The NAR data also shows that the median existing home price for all housing types in April was $232,500, up 6.3% from April 2015 and this is the 50th consecutive month of year on year gains. Total housing inventory at the end of April increased 9.2% to 2.14 million existing homes available for sale, but is still 3.6% lower than a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 4.7 month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.4 months in March. ‘The temporary relief from mortgage rates currently near three-year lows has helped preserve housing affordability this spring, but there's growing concern a number of buyers will be unable to find homes at affordable prices if wages don't rise and price growth doesn't slow,’ Yun explained. Properties typically stayed on the market for 39 days in April compared to 47 days in March, which is unchanged from a year ago but the shortest duration since June 2015 when it was 34 days. Short sales were on the market the longest at a median of 120 days in April, while foreclosures sold in 51 days and non-distressed homes took 37 days. Some 45% of homes sold in April were on the market for less than a month, the highest since June 2015 when it was 47%. ‘Looking ahead, with demand holding steady and supply levels still far from sufficient, the market for entry level and mid-priced homes will likely continue to be the most competitive heading into the summer months,’ Yun explained. The index show that the share of first time buyers was 32% in April, up from 30% both in March and a year ago…. Continue reading
Housing market activity in Auckland, New Zealand, slowed in March
Auckland house sales activity quietened in April after a busy March, with only a marginal increase in the average price, and sales numbers down significantly. The latest data from agents Barfoot & Thompson shows that the average price in April was $878,599, up 0.8% from March and up 8.6% compared to April 2015. ‘Auckland house prices have pulled back from breaking into new territory. For the past year we have been looking at monthly year on year increases of around 12%,’ said Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson. He pointed out that sales numbers at 944 for the month were also down significantly, falling 29.6% on those for March and down 11.8% on those for April last year. It means that in April the firm sold the lowest number of homes we have sold in an April in four years, and the likely cause of this was caution around current pricing and the low number of properties on the market, restricting choice. The data also shows that the median sales price for the month at $820,000 was up 2.8% on that for March and also up 8.8% on that for April last year. ‘In part, the climb in the midway price point (median price) can be attributed to the low number of homes sold in the month for under $500,000. In April only 7.1% of all homes sold were in this price category compared to 10.9% in March,’ Thompson said. He also pointed out that while house sales above the $1 million mark were the second highest for seven months, overall, activity in April could best be described as restrained. New listings in April at 1,496 were down 20.2% on those for March and down 5.3% on those for April last year. April’s new listings were the lowest in an April in three years. ‘For the third consecutive month the number of properties on our books at month end declined, and at 2,846 fell 8% below where they were at the end of March. The number of homes on our books at the end of April was the lowest they have been in an April for more than 15 years,’ Thompson explained. ‘While choice across all price segments was low, interest in top end homes remained high, and 355 properties, or 37.6%of all homes sold, attracted a price in excess of $1 million,’ he added. Continue reading
UK farmland values down 3% in first quarter of 2016
As uncertainty around the UK referendum on the country’s future in the European Union grows, values for farmland fell by 3% in the first quarter of 2016, dropping back below £8,000 an acre. The drop was the largest quarterly since the 5% decrease that occurred following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the latest analysis report from real estate firm Knight Frank. It shows that around 25% fewer acres of farmland had been advertised by the end of March, compared with the same period in 2015. However, despite the uncertainty and value drop, a recent survey by Farmers Weekly shows that 60% of farmers will be voting to leave the EU on 23 June. The report also looks at what has happened to farmland prices since the UK joined what was known as the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture/DEFRA shows land values increased sharply around the time, even managing to beat the hyper-inflation of the 1970s. Over the long term that trend has continued with land values outpacing inflation. But the sobering trend for farmers is how agricultural commodity prices have failed to keep up. The report also points out that investors’ priorities have changed dramatically over the past year, as they are now looking much further afield and for value-add opportunities such as diversified income streams or development potential And it also shows that prime country house prices rose by 0.3% on average in the first quarter of 2016, taking annual growth to 2.4%, down from 5.2% in 2014 but there was a notable rise in activity in the first quarter of the year with Knight Frank figures showing a 24% rise in sales volumes across the prime country market, compared with the same period in 2015. Activity was focused on the sub-£1 million market, which showed strongest price growth of 4% across the last 12 months. Homes worth £5 million or more saw values fall by 2.7% in the same period. ‘From weighing up the hugely complex issues surrounding the EU referendum, to coping with a slump in agricultural commodity prices and working out what the implications of the latest changes to the planning system could be for them, estates, farms and other rural businesses are having to take some extremely big decisions,’ said Andrew Shirley, head of rural research at Knight Frank. ‘Long term strategic planning can be extremely helpful when it comes to coping with such challenges and there are also exciting opportunities to be grasped and the level of innovation and entrepreneurship in the countryside has never been greater,’ he added. According to James Del Mar, Knight Frank’s head of rural consultancy, the tax environment for the rural landowner in the UK is becoming more challenging, particularly for those who are domiciled elsewhere. ‘At the same time, the pent up demand for new housing and infrastructure, combined with changes to the planning system, presents what some… Continue reading
