Tag Archives: united-states
South Americans top search rankings for property in south Florida
Property in south Florida continues to be popular with buyers from South America topping the list for people from overseas searching for real estate, the latest research shows. Colombia has been the top country of origin for five months in a row and four out of the top five countries are in South America, according to the data from the Miami Association of Realtors. In second place is Venezuela, then Argentina with Israel in fourth place and Brazil in fifth. Georgia registered the most searches of Miami real estate among American states. ‘South Florida is known around the world for embracing all cultures. Foreign born residents love Miami. Their passion is visible in our monthly property searches and in Realtor.com global searches, which continue to show South Florida as the most searched US market by international consumers,’ said Mark Sadek, chairman of the association. Colombian home buyers tied with Argentinians in purchasing the third-most Miami real estate among foreign countries and 10% of all foreign South Florida transactions. Only Venezuela with 13% and Brazil with 12% bought more. Colombians moving to South Florida are often upper middle class families who want to enjoy their prosperity earned in their homeland as professionals and entrepreneurs. Colombians spend the second most on South Florida property among foreign buyers. The $516,000 average purchase price of Colombians tied with Argentina and only trailed Brazil at $766,000. Israel posted the fourth most searches of South Florida real estate in April. It was the country’s highest finish since it took fourth in September 2015. India was sixth for the second consecutive month, while in seventh place was Canada, then the Philippines, Spain and Peru. Georgia, which had been climbing the ranks in recent months and finished second in March, moved ahead of New York for the most South Florida web searches in April 2016. In third place was Texas, followed by California, Tennessee, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, North Caroline and Michigan. The top market for overall international real estate demand: was Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach in Florida, followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim in California, then Bellingham in Washington State. South Florida ranked as a top-five market for consumers in eight of the world’s 10 largest regions in April 2016. South Florida finished as the most searched market in four of the regions. Continue reading
Residential asking prices up 5% across Ireland in second quarter of 2016
Asking prices for newly listed properties in Ireland increased by 5% nationally and by 3.6% in Dublin in the second quarter of 2016, the latest figures show. As housing supply continues to decline, average time to sale agreed has fallen to just four months, according to the property report from MyHome in association with Davy. The report says that Brexit may dampen medium term expectations but the UK’s decision to leave the European Union is not expected to have material impact on the Irish housing market in 2016. It also says that while the sharp gains in asking prices mainly reflect the recovery in house prices across the country with newly listed properties in Dublin rising by a more modest amount this is still four times the 0.9% increase recorded in the capital in the first quarter of the year. The mix adjusted asking price for new sales nationally is now €231,000 and €326,000 in Dublin, an increase of €11,000 for both markets compared with the first quarter of the year. For the entire stock of properties listed for sale on the MyHome website the national mix adjusted figure is €213,000, up 2.5%, the biggest quarterly increase since the third quarter of 2006. In Dublin the figure is €296,000, up 2%, which brings it back above the level seen in the second quarter of 2011. The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, chief economist at Davy, said the supply shortage and wage inflation were the key factors underpinning the latest price surge and pointed out that the number of homes for sale is down 6.7% on last year to 23,520, which is close to historical lows. ‘Not surprisingly properties are selling increasingly quickly with the average ‘sale agreed’ time falling to just four months, a new low. Outside of Dublin it has fallen to 4.8 months, the first time it has fallen below five since the financial crisis of 2008. While the government has outlined ambitious housing plans, there is no prospect of the shortage of housing supply being alleviated by new construction in the near term,’ he explained. ‘At the same time, home buyers are feeling the heat and reacting to the lack of supply by taking out ever higher mortgage debts, helped by rising wages and growing consumer confidence. In May the average mortgage approval for house purchase rose to €208,000, the first time that the average mortgage approval has exceeded €200,000 since the series began in 2011,’ he added. MacCoille believes that overall the data points to sharp gains in Irish house prices through the remainder of 2016. ‘While the potential impact of Brexit remains something of a wild card, its overall impact on the Irish economy and broader fears regarding the health of the European economy could help to temper medium term expectations for house price growth,’ he said. ‘However that probably won’t emerge until… Continue reading
Number of rental sector tenant evictions up in England and Wales
The number of households evicted from rental accommodation in England and Wales rose by 5% in the first three months of the year, while the repossession rate for home owners fell to a record low. Seasonally adjusted figures from the Ministry of Justice show there were 10,732 repossessions of rented homes by bailiffs between January and March 2016, up from 10,253 in the final three months of 2015. The number of tenants evicted from their homes by bailiffs reached a record high in 2015, according to official figures for England and Wales, which shows that 42,728 households in rented accommodation were forcibly removed. Housing campaigners blamed welfare cuts and the shortage of affordable homes for the rise in repossessions over the year and more than half the evictions are thought to have been by private landlords. These figures are echoed by a new report from online letting agent PropertyLetByUs which shows that a quarter of landlords have served an eviction notice to tenants over the last 12 months and 5% have pursued an eviction through the courts. Furthermore, almost half of landlords have also experienced rent arrears over the last 12 months. ‘Landlords are increasingly facing rent arrears, as rent escalation continues to outstrip gross income. They are also facing a financial squeeze due to restrictions on their tax breaks and some may be raising rents to supplement their income. Pushing up rent rises further will put huge pressure on those tenants who are already struggling to pay their rent. We may well see evictions continuing to rise over the next few months,’ said Jane Morris, managing director of PropertyLetByUs. She pointed out that the statistics highlight the need for landlords to protect their rental income and ensure they carry out thorough references with all new tenants. ‘Times are very tough for many tenants and demand for rental accommodation is soaring in many parts of the UK. Landlords need to extra vigilant when they take on a new tenant. But a few simple checks will help identify if a tenant is in a good financial position or not,’ she added. Meanwhile, changes to the process of accelerated possession through applying to use High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEOs) to evict a tenant has brought an end the so called seven day eviction which were misleading for landlords as well as increased costs, according to legal experts, Landlord Action. The majority of residential possession claims are dealt with in the county court and enforced by county court bailiffs. However, with a backlog of cases and a reduction of bailiffs leading to longer waiting times in some courts, it can take several weeks for bailiffs to carry out an eviction, which is longer than most landlords wish to wait when suffering further loss of rent. In some cases, landlords can apply for their case to be transferred to the High Court once a possession order has been made, so that… Continue reading
