Latest news with #HomePriceIndex
Mercury
3 days ago
- Business
- Mercury
Speed bumps sidestepped as growth momentum builds
When a federal election is looming, property markets tend to be softer, but a new report shows Tasmanian real estate kicking off 2025 with increasing growth. While cost-of-living pressures remain top of mind for family budgets, more people bought homes in the March quarter than the previous quarter, or at the same time in 2024. And values are on the up. The Real Estate Institute of Tasmania's March Quarterly report found these 2399 sales were worth $1.48bn. This cumulative value was an increase of 1.6 per cent on the previous quarter and compared to March 2024, was up by 7.3 per cent. Tasmania's median house price increased 1.6 per cent for the quarter to $620,000, which was a 3.3 per cent increase over March last year. Launceston and the North West median house prices were up by 1.3 and 1 per cent. Hobart decreased by 3 per cent. MORE: Interstate developer to put stamp on 'gateway' site How much 1990s Hobart homes would cost today With property prices soaring interstate, Tasmania is re-emerging as an option for investment spending. The report showed a 'sharp rise' in interest from mainland investors. They accounted for almost half (46.5 per cent) of all investor purchases during the quarter, significantly above the two-year average of 31.8 per cent. Statewide, rental vacancies were steady at 2 per cent. However, demand saw the median rent for a three-bedroom home in Hobart increase by $10 to $560 per week. Launceston rents decreased $30 to $450 per week, while the North West centres added $15 to $430 per week. Historic Richmond was the quarter's standout price performer with a median of $1.66m, followed by Sandy Bay, Kingston Beach and East Launceston. The West retained the affordability crown with Queenstown houses selling for a $165,000 median value. There were 211 sales in March in excess of $1m. While this was more than March 2024, it was a handful less than the December quarter. As recently as 2019, Tasmanians recorded just 175 sales at this level in an entire year. While 447 first-home buyers got their foot on the ladder over the quarter, this was a 13 per cent decrease compared year-on-year. REIT president Russell Yaxley said Tasmania real estate takes a 'slow and steady approach', avoiding the volatile ebbs and flow activity that are common in larger cities. 'Our market has clearly recovered from its slowdown — late 2023 to early 2024 — and signs look positive for a rebound into 2025,' he said. 'Increasing demand with diminishing stock levels over 2025 will see increased pressure placed on property for sale and rentals over this coming year.' Meanwhile, PropTrack's latest monthly Home Price Index shows continued gains with Hobart, which was up by 0.3 per cent in May and 2.58 per cent annually to post a median home value of $685,000 while remaining the second-cheapest city behind only Darwin. Regional Tasmania was down 0.29 per cent in May and 1.78 per cent higher annually, with a $526,000 median home value. REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh said the rise in home prices was largely driven by falling interest rates. 'With interest rates falling, price momentum has increased and broadened, with all capitals seeing prices lift in May,' she said. 'Lower interest rates have lifted borrowing capacities and boosted buyer demand.'
Perth Now
29-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
‘Just stop': Surprise act hurting homebuyers
Potential first-home buyers are falling further behind due to the very schemes designed to get them into a home. Independent economist Saul Eslake said the best thing the government could do to help first-home buyers would be to remove concessions that allow them to buy a home. 'The question isn't what they should be doing, it's what they should not be doing,' he told NewsWire. 'What they have to stop doing is things that needlessly inflate demand for housing. 'Stop giving out what I call second-home vendor grants as I call them because that is where the money ends up.' Australia's housing market has almost instantly reacted to interest rate cuts. NewsWire/ Nadir Kinani Credit: News Corp Australia 'Stop giving stamp duty concessions, all they do is allow people to pay the vendor what they would have paid to the state government and back away from the mortgage deposit guarantee schemes and shared equity schemes,' he said. Mr Eslake said these policies, which are designed to help first-home buyers, simply end up inflating house prices. 'While a shared equity scheme sounds like a good idea, in practice, if you're willing to buy a $400,000 house and the government says 'hey, we will give you 20 per cent', then buyers say 'oh good, I can now afford a $500,000 house'. 'So a $400,000 house becomes a $500,000 house, so it's more a matter of just stop needlessly inflating demand.' One of the key election policies the Albanese government ran on was its expansion of the First Home Guarantee scheme, which is sometimes called the 5 per cent deposit scheme. This program allows first-home buyers to purchase property with a deposit as little as 5 per cent, with the government effectively guaranteeing the other 15 per cent, allowing first-home buyers to avoid paying lenders' mortgage insurance. But in an updated version of the scheme to come into effect at the start of 2026, caps of $125,000 for singles and $200,000 for couples will be removed. The PropTrack April Home Price Index showed national house prices hit a new record high over the month of April, increasing by 0.2 per cent monthly or 3.7 per cent compared with the same time last year. Australia's Cash Rate 2022 Helia chief executive and managing director Pauline Blight-Johnston said the main risk to the latest policy was the removal of the income caps to get government help. 'Our belief is that we will achieve the most as an economy if the government help is directed towards those that need it the most, and those that are able to help themselves through private enterprise do so without the taxpayers' dollar,' she told NewsWire. 'At the end of the day, our view is that taxpayers' dollars should go to those that really need the help to get into the market, such as essential workers or others that are really struggling.' Ms Blight-Johnston said expanding the HGS didn't address the fundamental underlying issue for those struggling to buy their first home – a shortage of affordable supply. She fears that the government's housing schemes just worsen housing affordability by fuelling demand and driving up prices. As Australian house prices hit record highs for a fifth consecutive month, it is harder for first-home buyers to get into the market. NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia Instead, she pointed to first-home buyers using lenders' mortgage insurance as a 'really powerful tool' that is often misunderstood. 'People think of it as a fee …. But if you think of it differently as a wealth creation tool and it allows you to get into a home earlier, on average people that use LMI get in around nine years earlier and around $100,000 better off after five years because they got into the market earlier,' she said. Ms Blight Johnston said mortgage holders would typically pay 1 to 2 per cent as a premium above their usual repayments if they took on LMI. 'If you think property goes up on average 4 or maybe 5 per cent a year, if it is going to take you more than six months to save the deposit, the extra 15 per cent — as LMI takes the deposit down from 20 to 5 per cent – you're going to be ahead by getting into the market earlier and paying the premium.' Mr Eslake said LMI could increase demand for property if it acted like a reduction in interest rates. 'We know whenever interest rates go down, people borrow more and pay more for the house they buy which results in higher prices,' he said.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Home prices record first monthly drop since 2022: Redfin
(NewsNation) — Elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty have sidelined buyers, and for the first time in years, home prices are starting to slip. According to the Redfin Home Price Index, U.S. home prices dipped 0.1% in April on a seasonally adjusted basis — the first monthly drop since September 2022. Though small, the decline reflects a broader shift in the balance of power, with buyers starting to regain leverage in many major markets. In April, prices fell month over month in half of the 50 largest metros, led by Charlotte (-1%), Virginia Beach (-1%) and Miami (-0.7%), per Redfin's index. Homebuying season: 4 things to know about the 2025 housing market Flattening home prices provide further evidence that the 2025 spring homebuying season could be the slowest in years. The typically busy period is already off to a sluggish start, as uncertainty around President Trump's tariffs weighs heavily on consumer confidence. 'There's a general feeling of anxiety in the housing market because no one knows what they're going to read in the news when they wake up,' Dan Close, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Chicago, said in a report this week. The supply of homes for sale is now at a five-year high, and more sellers are offering concessions to get deals done, according to Redfin. Homesellers want nearly $39K more than buyers will pay Still, affordability remains a challenge. On a year-over-year basis, home prices were up 4.1% in April, according to Redfin's Home Price Index. While that's the slowest annual price growth since July 2023, it hardly suggests that homeownership is becoming more attainable for most families. As with all things in real estate, conditions vary by market, and in many metros, prices continued to climb in April. Prices rose fastest in Nassau County, New York (1.8% month over month); Warren, Michigan (1.3%); and New York (1.2%). In cities like Detroit, New Brunswick and Philadelphia, home prices are up more than 12% year over year, Redfin found. The Redfin Housing Price Index reflects seasonally adjusted changes in the prices of single-family homes. It tracks how sale prices have changed over time by comparing a home's most recent sale to its previous sale. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dallas-Plano-Irving Home Prices Down -1.2% Year Over Year in April, According to First American Data & Analytics Monthly Home Price Index Report
House Prices Nationally Continue to Decelerate —Slowing price appreciation offers hope for potential home buyers, says Chief Economist Mark Fleming— SANTA ANA, Calif., May 20, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First American Data & Analytics, a leading national provider of property-centric information, risk management and valuation solutions and a division of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF), today released its April 2025 Home Price Index (HPI) report. The report tracks home price changes less than four weeks behind real time at the national, state and metropolitan (Core-Based Statistical Area) levels and includes metropolitan price tiers that segment sale transactions into starter, mid and luxury tiers. The full report can be found here. April1 Home Price Index Dallas-Plano-Irving Market Metric Change in HPI March 2025-April 2025 (month over month) 0.0 percent April 2024-April 2025 (year over year) -1.2 percent National HPI Metric Change in HPI March 2025-April 2025 (month over month) +0.4 percent April 2024-April 2025 (year over year) +2.0 percent Chief Economist National HPI Analysis: "House prices nationally reached another record high in April, but the annual growth rate has slowed to its lowest level since 2012, underscoring the ongoing rebalancing in the market," said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American. "Persistently high mortgage rates have tempered demand, while increased inventory has boosted supply, dragging house price appreciation down. This normalization follows the unsustainable price growth seen during the pandemic. Although affordability remains a challenge, slower price appreciation is encouraging for potential home buyers as it lets their income-growth driven house purchasing power increase." Year-Over-Year Price-Tier Data for the Dallas-Plano-Irving Metro Area: April 2024 to April 2025 The First American Data & Analytics HPI segments home price changes at the metropolitan level into three price tiers based on local market sales data: starter tier, which represents home sales prices at the bottom third of the market price distribution; mid-tier, which represents home sales prices in the middle third of the market price distribution; and the luxury tier, which represents home sales prices in the top third of the market price distribution. CBSA Starter Mid-Tier Luxury Dallas-Plano-Irving -3.2% -3.3% +3.5% "The markets with the strongest growth in the starter home price tier are predominantly located in the Northeast or Midwest," said Fleming. "These markets include Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and St. Louis, markets that are attractive to potential first-time home buyers due to their relative affordability. However, homebuilding has also lagged in these markets, leading to high demand relative to limited supply, fueling strong house price appreciation." April 2025 First American Data & Analytics Price Tier HPI Highlights2 Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) Ranked by Greatest Year-Over-Year Increases in Starter Tier HPI CBSA Change in Starter Tier HPI Change in Mid-Tier HPI Change in Luxury Tier HPI Pittsburgh +7.6 percent +2.5 percent +4.0 percent Baltimore +5.7 percent +3.3 percent +3.3 percent St. Louis +4.9 percent +0.9 percent +0.4 percent Cambridge, Mass. +4.7 percent +5.0 percent +1.3 percent Warren, Mich. +3.3 percent +2.2 percent +3.3 percent Additional April 2025 First American Data & Analytics HPI Highlights Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) with Greatest Year-Over-Year Increases in HPI CBSA Change in HPI Pittsburgh +5.0 percent Cambridge, Mass. +4.0 percent Warren, Mich. +3.3 percent Baltimore +3.3 percent St. Louis +3.1 percent Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) with a Year-Over-Year Decrease in HPI Oakland, Calif. -7.6 percent Tampa, Fla. -4.8 percent San Diego -2.1 percent Denver -1.8 percent Dallas -1.2 percent HPI data for all 50 states and the largest 30 CBSAs by population is available here. Visit the First American Economic Center for more research on housing market dynamics. Next Release The next release of the First American Data & Analytics House Price Index will take place the week of June 16, 2025. First American Data & Analytics HPI Methodology The First American Data & Analytics HPI report measures single-family home prices, including distressed sales, with indices updated monthly beginning in 1980 through the month of the current report. HPI data is provided at the national, state and CBSA levels and includes preliminary index estimates for the month prior to the report (i.e. the preliminary result of July transactions is reported in August). The most recent index results are subject to revision as data from more transactions become available. The HPI uses a repeat-sales methodology, which measures price changes for the same property over time using more than 46 million paired transactions to generate the indices. In non-disclosure states, the HPI utilizes a combination of public sales records, MLS sold and active listings, and appraisal data to estimate house prices. This comprehensive approach is particularly effective in areas where there is limited availability of accurate sale prices, such as non-disclosure states. Property type, price and location data are used to create more refined market segment indices. Real Estate-Owned transactions are not included. Disclaimer Opinions, estimates, forecasts and other views contained in this page are those of First American's Chief Economist, do not necessarily represent the views of First American or its management, should not be construed as indicating First American's business prospects or expected results, and are subject to change without notice. Although the First American Economics team attempts to provide reliable, useful information, it does not guarantee that the information is accurate, current or suitable for any particular purpose. © 2025 by First American. Information from this page may be used with proper attribution. About First American Data & Analytics First American Data & Analytics, a division of First American Financial Corporation, is a national provider of property-centric information, risk management and valuation solutions. First American maintains and curates the industry's largest property and ownership dataset that includes more than 8.6 billion document images. Its major platforms and products include: DataTree®, FraudGuard®, RegsData®, First American TaxSource™ and ACI®. Find out more about how First American Data & Analytics powers the real estate, mortgage and title settlement services industries with advanced decisioning solutions at About First American First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF) is a premier provider of title, settlement and risk solutions for real estate transactions. With its combination of financial strength and stability built over more than 135 years, innovative proprietary technologies, and unmatched data assets, the company is leading the digital transformation of its industry. First American also provides data products to the title industry and other third parties; valuation products and services; mortgage subservicing; home warranty products; banking, trust and wealth management services; and other related products and services. With total revenue of $6.1 billion in 2024, the company offers its products and services directly and through its agents throughout the United States and abroad. In 2025, First American was named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by Great Place to Work® and Fortune Magazine for the tenth consecutive year. The company was named one of the 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators by Fast Company for the second consecutive year in 2024. More information about the company can be found at 1 The most recent index results are subject to revision as data from more transactions become available. 2 Note: Nassau-County-Suffolk County, NY is excluded from this month's report due to data disruptions. View source version on Contacts Media Contact: Marcus GinnatyCorporate CommunicationsFirst American Financial Corporation(714) 250-3298 Investor Contact:Craig BarberioInvestor RelationsFirst American Financial Corporation(714) 250-5214 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
15-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Canadian home sales edge lower in April, prices fall
TORONTO, May 15 (Reuters) - Canadian home sales fell 0.1% in April from March and were down 9.8% on an annual basis, data from the Canadian Real Estate Association showed on Thursday. The industry group's Home Price Index declined 1.2% on the month and was down 3.6% annually, while the national average selling price was down 3.9% on the year.
