Latest news with #property market
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
House prices rise in every Australian capital city together for first time in four years
Australia's eight state and territory capital cities posted simultaneous house price rises for the first time in four years last quarter as interest rate cuts underpinned a wave of buying. After a brief reprieve in 2024, prices accelerated in Sydney and Melbourne while Australia's smaller capitals retained momentum, according to June quarter data from property portal Domain. 'It doesn't matter the capital city, it doesn't matter the property type, prices are rising,' Domain's chief of research and economics, Nicola Powell, said. More than 1,700 suburbs around Australia saw house values rise over the year to June, with suburban Perth seeing some of the biggest jumps. About 400 suburbs saw prices fall over the year. Prices picked up in every capital city across building types over the three months to June, the first time in four years for houses and the first time in two years for units. Broad-based demand surges saw prices rise on an annual basis for both houses and units across most capital cities, excluding houses in Darwin, units in Melbourne and both types in Canberra. Sign up: AU Breaking News email Demand jumped nationwide after the Reserve Bank's two cuts to interest rates in 2025 increased borrowing capacity, which Cotality data indicated had pushed more bidders to auctions and driven clearance rates close to 70%. Clearance rates refer to the percentage of properties sold at auction, compared with the total number of properties listed to go under the hammer. Prospective buyers shared stories with Guardian Australia of trying to purchase a house during a fast-rising market, with many repeatedly outbid. While prices are still rising, buying momentum has eased in some overheated capitals, including Brisbane and Adelaide, after median prices surpassed $1m. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'That just locks out so many people from purchasing a house, and it does shift demand towards units … because of the landscape of affordability,' Powell said. 'Some buyers have to seek more affordable alternatives, and units obviously present that.' While Brisbane houses saw prices rise 7.5% in the year to June, apartment prices rose 13.3%. The three months to June saw apartment price growth outstrip house price hikes in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Darwin. Apartment prices were starting to catch up to the pace of house prices as homebuyers and investors switched their focus towards relatively cheaper units, according to Chyi Lin Lee, professor of property at the University of New South Wales. 'What we've seen here is houses leading the units, so we can see the unit prices actually catching up,' Lee said. He said interest in apartments had likely also risen as buyers looked to escape renting and investors seek to take advantage of the persistent surge in rental costs. Cotality data released on Thursday indicated rents had leapt more than 40% since 2020, with median asking prices up nearly $200 per week, or more than $10,000 annually. Rent hikes have since slowed to just 3.4% annually in the year to June, the weakest 12-month increase since 2021 and the equivalent of a $22 weekly increase on the median rent, Cotality found. Property prices, though, are expected to continue to accelerate as the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates further, with a third cut expected when the RBA board meets in August. Analysts have not forecast a property price boom given so many Australians have already been priced out of the market, with AMP predicting home prices will rise no more than 6% annually.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Netflix movie review: Wall to Wall – homeowning is a living nightmare in Korean thriller
3/5 stars The general Hong Kong audience will find the premise of Netflix's latest Korean thriller Wall to Wall all too relatable. Kang Ha-neul stars as a professional who buries himself in debt to acquire his dream flat, only to experience an avalanche of grievances from his new neighbours from the moment he moves in. Directed by Kim Tae-joon, Wall to Wall, which is titled 84m² in Korean, is a marked improvement on his insipid debut feature, Unlocked , and manages a few pointed jabs at the absurdity of Korea's property market. Unfortunately, things begin to unravel as the filmmaker surrenders valuable square footage to more contrived thriller conventions. Play Like everyone around him, office drone Wu-song (Kang) strives day and night to scrape together the funds to buy a new flat. After maxing out his loans and withdrawing an advance on his severance plan, he finally has enough to close a deal on 84 square metres (904 square feet) of prime real estate to call his own.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
The seaside house price hotspot bucking the coastal downturn
Tom Cole is embracing semi-retirement – and is moving against the tide. While soaring council tax bills are pushing second home owners to sell up their seaside homes, he is buying. He and his partner, Lee Gunthorpe, are in the process of exchanging their Hertfordshire home for an elegant seaside townhouse in Dartmouth, Devon. It is one of the few towns that are bucking the seaside price slump. In the past year, prices have breached the £500,000 barrier, with 4pc annual growth, according to Rightmove. Further along the coast, prices in Sidmouth have fallen by 5pc in the same period (to just under £495,000), while Canford Cliffs is the biggest loser, with prices down 9pc to £975,000. Properties by the seaside across the country rose in value by just 1.1pc in the last year to £318,464. Cole, 59, a former university lecturer, and Gunthorpe, 56, who traded in his career as a project manager in the City to become a postman, got to know south Devon after Cole's parents moved to Kingswear, on the other side of the river Dart, from Dartmouth, 16 years ago. 'The lifestyle is very laid back,' says Cole. 'You feel as if the pace of life is much slower and you are out of the rat race but there is still a lot to do.' Since spending £515,000 on their townhouse in March – their similar-sized home in Sawbridgeworth, a 400-year-old converted workshop, is in the process of being sold for £435,000 – Cole and Gunthorpe have been able to indulge in hobbies like kayaking and are volunteering at the National Trust-run Greenway Estate, the former home of Agatha Christie. The couple already have friends locally and think that making more will be pretty straightforward. 'People seem to be down to earth, happy and approachable,' says Cole. Dartmouth hasn't escaped from the coastal downturn completely. Second home buyers have all but vanished, says buying agent Ed Jephson, of Stacks Property Search. But Dartmouth has always appealed to retirees or those approaching it. 'I cannot speak highly enough of it, it is a fantastic town, a really functioning all-year-round town' says Jephson. 'Second home owners are quiet, but the void has been filled by people who want to live here full time. 'I am not surprised because the quality of life is second to none. It is a really active, healthy community. I play tennis every week and rarely does it get too cold – you can still be in your shorts in November. There is sailing and walking too, and the restaurants survive because there is trade all year round, which is not something you can really say about all of the South Hams.' James Archibald, a 36-year-old photographer, agrees. He moved to Dartmouth in the depths of winter, and has been pleasantly surprised by how it functions off-season. Having grown up in north Devon, he was braced to find a town shut down for the winter season. 'It has been revelatory,' says Archibald, who used to live in Exeter, but moved to Dartmouth in December after inheriting his grandparents' bungalow. 'There was still a lot going on, a lot of culture for its size and everything just keeps ticking along. In somewhere like Croyde, for example, come October everything closes and doesn't reopen again until Easter.' Not only do most of Dartmouth's independent shops and restaurants stay open over the winter, but the town centre, with its pastel painted buildings lined up overlooking the harbour, is picturesque whatever the weather. There are also plenty of annual events, from August's annual regatta to live music and food festivals throughout the year. Its two schools are both rated 'good' by Ofsted. Trains from Totnes Station 10 miles away take just over two-and-a-half hours to London Paddington. Richard Blake, of Winkworth estate agents in Dartmouth, believes that the Rightmove figures disguise a more complicated picture. He agrees with Jephson that second home buyers have vanished, deterred by a combination of general economic malaise, a reported drop in holiday let bookings and a 100pc council tax surcharge. This has decimated demand for little fisherman's cottages and marina-front apartments that were being snapped up for record prices in 2021 and 2022. But locals' homes, largely flats under £150,000 sold to first-time buyers and family houses away from the waterfront that go for between £275,000 to £475,000, are still trading well. Traditionally, retirees have been Dartmouth's bread-and-butter buyers, but the town has been benefitting from a younger influx of buyers freed from their offices by working from home, who are keen to start a new life by the sea. While the UK's population is ageing, the South Hams is bucking the trend according to the Office for National Statistics migration data. It is attracting an increasing number of young incomers. In 2022, the most recent data available, 17pc of movers into the area were in 20s, and another third were in their 30s and 40s. Only only 22pc were in their 50s and 60s. Becky Dostal and her partner Arran Watkins, both 30, relocated to Dartmouth in 202, and their move from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, has brought the couple career satisfaction. In Cheltenham, Dostal worked as a chartered accountant and Arran was operations manager for a private jet company. For Dostal, the appeal of spreadsheets and tax returns had started to pall, while Arran was not completely satisfied with dealing with the travel arrangements of the 1pc. The couple decided to quit their jobs and clear their heads by going travelling for six months. On their return, they decided to move to Dartmouth, largely because Dostal's parents and brother had already relocated to the area. Once settled into a £650 per month two-bedroom house – a couple of hundred pounds less than they were paying for a similar-sized property in Gloucestershire – Dostal turned her baking hobby into a business, setting up Pebble Pantry and selling her wares online and in local cafes. Arran is an on-call firefighter and works part time for a boat maintenance company. The couple have found Dartmouth's community 'close knit'. 'You really have to put yourself out there to make friends – it's not like in Cheltenham where there were lots of sports clubs and groups to join,' says Dostal. But the couple have relished the chance to explore nearby Dartmoor, walk the South West Coast Path and hang out on the beach after work. 'Sometimes it feels like we are on holiday,' she says. Julie Hill, of The Coastal House, sells seaside homes in the South Hams and Torbay, and has seen the change in the market's focus. 'The market in Dartmouth has really shifted,' she adds. 'There are not many second home buyers, but what we are getting is people who want to buy permanent homes, often early retirees, but young families too, and they are serious buyers – if they see something they like they will buy it.' 'Dartmouth really punches above its weight,' she says. 'People feel that they can relocate down here and have a life all year round.'
Bloomberg
15-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Singapore Private Home Sales Fall to Six-Month Low Before Curbs
Singapore's new private home sales declined to the lowest level in six months in June, just before authorities introduced new measures to tame prices. Developers sold 272 units last month, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed on Tuesday. That's lower than the 312 homes sold in May, but higher than the sales reported in June 2024.
CTV News
15-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
B.C. sees increase in home sales, except in Vancouver
Vancouver Watch Despite an uptick in home sales across the province, the market remains cool in Vancouver - here's why that could be.
