In NSW’s capital Sydney, house prices have rocketed upwards by 4.5 per cent since hitting rock bottom in November last year.

According to the PropTrack Home Price Index, the increase implied a rise in median home values of $45k, or $1470 per week since late last year.

In the past three months prices were up 2.7 per cent, representing an increase in median home values of $27k, or $2100 per week.

“Greater Sydney saw the fastest growth in home prices of any capital city over June. This marked the sixth consecutive month of price rises for Australia’s most expensive capital city. Sydney has now recouped much of the losses recorded over 2022,” PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty told news.com.au.

Ongoing property price growth acceleration in Sydney despite climbing interest rates pointed towards a significant imbalance between supply and demand, she said.

Sydney house prices have been climbing more than $2000 every week. Picture: NCA Newswire/Gaye Gerard

“The total number of properties listed for sale in Greater Sydney remains subdued and, in May, was a staggering 18 per cent lower compared to the same time last year.

“Fewer listings are contributing to more competitive market conditions which is seeing prices rise, despite higher interest rates.”

Prices were expected to continue climbing along with the population growth and a slowdown in how fast homes were being built.

“What’s more, the speed at which new homes are being built is slowing, with development approvals and construction starts slowing,” Ms Flaherty said.

“This is expected to exacerbate the issue of undersupply over the coming years which could drive prices even higher.”

Some of Sydney’s formerly more affordable suburbs have also skyrocketed in recent months.

“Price growth over June was strongest in the relatively more affordable outer suburbs, with the Blacktown, North Sydney and Hornsby, and Parramatta regions recording the strongest price growth,” she said.

Meanwhile, a handful of regions out the city’s outskirts had dropped in price.

A significant imbalance with supply and demand was to blame. Picture: NCA Newswire/Gaye Gerard

“In contrast, some regional areas are continuing to see declines, including the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven, the Mid North Coast, and the Hunter Valley,” she said.

Every capital city except Darwin recorded increases in the latest PropTrack Home Price Index release on June 1, following prices accelerating and broadening in May.

Canberra and Hobart joined the rebound as their recent falls reversed and all regional markets saw prices rise in May except regional NSW and regional Victoria.

Canberra and Perth recorded the largest increases in May. Sydney, the market which led the downturn, has also led the recovery, with prices up 3.03 per cent in May from a November low and now down less than 2 per cent from levels seen in the same period last year.

Home price growth has been stronger in the capital cities than regional areas this year. This trend continued in May, with regional areas lifting a small 0.03 per cent and capital city prices lifting 0.45 per cent.

Regional markets have however outperformed on an annual basis.

Source : News.com.au

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Despite growing concerns over the volume of future housing supply, the emirate will see the completion of 27,400 apartments and 4,650 villas by year-end. The emirate reported delivery of 27,000 apartments and 3,930 villas in 2022, the report said.

Nevertheless, the appetite for new project launches continues to be well received by investors and end-users, the report added.

Dubai recorded delivery of nearly 7,600 units in Q1 2023, matching the volume in the final quarter of 2022. The villa supply picked up significantly, with approximately 2,150 units handed over, more than doubling from the previous quarter.

Villas remained the predominant focus, offering higher rental and occupancy rates. The average apartment and villa rental rates continued to record strong growth in Q1 2023, particularly in higher-quality developments, with quarterly increases of 4% and 7%, respectively.

The annual price increase for apartments and villas grew 17% year-on-year, with apartments and villas up 3% and 5%, respectively.

Office rental rates grew on average by 6% over the last three months, with annual rental increases at 21%.

Asteco expects the momentum to continue throughout 2023 in the Dubai real estate market, albeit at a more sustainable rate than in 2022.

Abu Dhabi

The UAE capital saw a supply of around 1,600 residential units in Q1 2023, mainly across Al Raha Beach, Al Reem Island and Saadiyat Island.

“With several new projects currently in the planning and design stage and anticipated to launch over the year, Abu Dhabi’s development pipeline throughout the rest of 2023 shows no signs of slowing down,” Asteco said.

While apartment rental rates showed stability, prime and high-quality apartment developments registered an average rental increase of 2% in Q1 2023. But, these increases were limited to new tenants.

The villa rental market continued its upward trajectory in Q1 2023, with an average quarterly increase of 2%. Lease rates in prime villa communities rose up to 5%.

Sales prices for completed residential apartment and villa developments were broadly flat over Q1, albeit the average increase over the past 12 months was 2.0%.

While sales rates for the off-plan prime and high-quality projects segment surged recently, they remain at a steep discount to comparable properties in Dubai but represent “exceptionally good value”.

Demand for office space in Abu Dhabi, particularly for Grade A / B+, remained strong, predominantly in prime locations, the report stated.

Source: ZAWYA

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Workers in central Cape Town are putting the finishing touches on the 54-room Hemp Hotel, which is due to be completed in June.

“Hempcrete” blocks derived from the cannabis plant have been used to fill the building’s walls, supported by a concrete and cement structure.

Hemp bricks are becoming increasingly popular in the construction world thanks to their insulating, fire-resistant and climate-friendly properties.

Used notably in Europe for thermal renovation of existing buildings, the blocks are carbon negative – meaning their production sucks more planet-warming gases out of the atmosphere than it puts in.

“The plant absorbs the carbon, it gets put into a block and is then stored into a building for 50 years or longer,” explains Boshoff Muller, director of Afrimat Hemp, a subsidiary of South African construction group Afrimat, which produced the bricks for the hotel.

Source: The Business Times

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In early April, the house price indices of PropTrack and CoreLogic both showed signs of growth, with small upticks in prices recorded across the nation. The latest data from both companies again showed rises in their respective house price indices.

The theme of recovery was also identified by Hotspotting, recently releasing its latest Top 10 National Best Buys report for the next six months.

Hotspotting Founder and Managing Director, Terry Ryder, said a number of factors are influencing markets around the nation with both big cities and smaller regional locations recording positive market metrics.

“Improving data on prices in the biggest cities recently has added to the ongoing strong performance in smaller cities and regional areas, the worsening shortage of rental properties, the significant increases in rents and more optimistic consumer sentiment,” Ryder said.

“It adds up to a scenario where prices will likely rise in most of the nation’s key markets in 2023 – which was our forecast before the year started.

“Even the big bank economists have turned more positive in their outlooks, although they continue to under-estimate the underlying strength in real estate markets in our assessment.”

There are some positive signs ahead. Although the April rate pause was followed by a 25 basis point rise this month, some banks and lenders have started to cut their own borrowing rates. The fundamentals for parts of Australia’s real estate market remain especially strong and the rate of construction is starting to pick up, albeit not at the necessary levels to meet demand.

Hotspotting’s report noted several factors are influencing the real estate market at present, with many of those mentions reflected in other expert observations.

Among the key influencers of the real estate market:

• A continued severe shortage of supply, relative to demand, for both the buyers and renters,
• Price growth off the back of the shortages,
• Additional demand from the return of ex-pats, overseas migrants, and international students,
• Increased migrant intake by the Federal Government,
• Continued low levels of unemployment, and
• The expectation that interest rates will stay put this year.

While Perth remains a stand-out performer, according to Ryder, regional Queensland is also whetting buyers’ appetites as the market offers “… the best combination of affordability, good yields, and growth prospects.”

One market that is ‘back in business’ is Sydney’s inner city apartment market, according to Hotspotting General Manager Tim Graham.

“People are buying apartments in inner-city areas where units are less than half the price of houses such as in Inner West of Sydney and Brisbane’s inner south Olympic Precinct,” Graham said.

“Our analysis also shows that Sydney is heading into recovery and the Melbourne and Victoria markets are expected to strengthen as the year unfolds.”

Top 10 National Best Buys

According to Hotspotting’s latest report, the top 10 buys (local government areas) for May to September 2023 are:

1. 1. Stirling, WA
   2. Toowoomba, QLD
   3. Inner West, NSW
   4. Townsville, QLD
   5. Hume, VIC
   6. Salisbury, SA
   7. Ballarat, VIC
   8. Olympic Precinct, QLD
   9. Canning, WA
   10. Greater Geraldton, WA

Stirling, WA

The City of Stirling was previously picked as Hotspotting’s National Growth Star, picked for its superb amenity.

Ryder noted in the latest report that the local government area (LGA) shows promise due to significant activity within Stirling.

“The LGA is rising thanks to several large infrastructure projects, some of which have been completed recently,” he said.

“The Stirling City Centre project, touted as being one of Australia’s biggest urban regeneration projects, finished in January 2021 – while $1.6 billion is being spent on upgrading two of the LGA’s major shopping centres.”

Over a billion in projects are either recently completed or under way, the report citing the Scarbrough Beach redevelopment, Karrinyup Shopping Centre expansion, and transport projects.

Toowoomba, QLD

The inland city is some one and a half hours west of Brisbane, and has a $12 billion economy, according to the report.

A strong and diverse economy are some of the factors playing in favour of Toowoomba, with Graham noting several major upcoming projects, including the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, are set to ‘cement’ the city’s reputation as an intermodal transport hub.

“This will be further enhanced by the $15 billion Inland Rail Link, for which Toowoomba is a major pivot point,” Graham said.

“Other growth catalysts include the city’s proximity to Surat Basin’s resources as well as the region’s more traditional agricultural, tourism and manufacturing bases.”

Inner West, NSW

Inner western Sydney is set to benefit from major train station upgrades and other multi-billion dollar projects such as the Rozelle Interchange.

Ryder hailed the Inner West as one of Sydney’s ‘most resilient sectors’, noting in particular the relative affordability of apartments.

According to SQM Research data, units are less than half the price of a house, coming it at around $750,000.

Townsville, QLD

Another Queensland city is touted for its economy, which includes military, government admin, tourism, education, export, manufacturing, and resources, according to the report.

Graham noted the city is set to also see billions of dollars in investment, with unemployment also trending sharply downwards.

Hume, VIC

The City of Hume is some 40 minutes out of the Melbourne CBD, and according to Ryder, is home to the fourth-largest population in the State.

“Hume continues to remain an affordable option in 2023 and can expect further benefits from government spending and improved infrastructure in coming years,” said Ryder.

Salisbury, SA

The City of Salisbury may be turning into an aerospace hub, with the $1.9 billion Edinburgh Parks Industrial Precinct currently under construction adjacent to the Edinburgh Defence Precinct.

“The emerging 300-hectare precinct is attracting industries including aerospace and space technologies, cyber-security and defence, food and beverage manufacturing, logistics support and automotive industries.”

Ballarat, VIC

The locale is yet another pick that has shown significant resilience in the face of cooling markets. Ryder noted the locale saw median price growth above 20% over the past 12 months.

Olympic Precinct, QLD

With the major sporting event to take off in 2032, it almost comes as no surprise that there are billions of dollars being injected into the local economy.

Graham said that while the Inner South Precinct of Brisbane has performed sluggishly in the past, it is well positioned for growth.

Canning, WA

The LGA enjoys excellent access to several large-scale employment nodes in Perth, said Ryder.

Suburbs within the City of Canning are also affordable, with Ryder noting the LGA is a “community for young families.”

Greater Geraldton, WA

The key regional centre has seen significant growth in recent years, according to Graham, with growth running parallel to Perth:

“Geraldton is a key regional centre that has grown swiftly in recent years, in line with growth in Perth and the State overall,” said Graham.

“As the Perth property market rebounded strongly in 2020 and delivered notable growth in 2021 and 2022, so too did the municipality of Geraldton, four hours north of the capital city.”

Source: The Property Tribune

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Non-Canadians who violate the ban can be fined up to $10,000 and may be required to sell the property they purchased. Any individual or company involved with the home purchase may be fined the same amount.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to introduce the law while campaigning for re-election in 2021. It was passed by Parliament on June 23. Canada is now one of a few countries that bans foreigners from buying residential property as investments. New Zealand introduced a similar measure in 2018, while in Finland, foreigners need permission to buy real estate in the country.

“Homes should not be commodities,” said Ahmen Hussen, minister of housing, in a statement on December 21. “Homes are meant to be lived in, a place where families can lay down roots, create memories and build a life together. Through this legislation, we’re taking action to ensure that housing is owned by Canadians, for the benefit of everyone who lives in this country.”

The Canadian government has introduced other measures to curb rising home prices, such as tax incentives for first-time homebuyers, investment for the construction of new homes and monthly subsidies for people who are unable to find affordable rent. An anti-flipping tax also came into effect on January 1. Under the law, anyone who sells a property which they owned for less than 12 months – a process known as flipping – will be taxed on the profits made from the deal.

“Our economy is built by people, and people need homes in which to live,” said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, when she presented the initiative in April. “Our problem is simply this: Canada does not have enough homes. We need more of them, fast.”

The average cost of a home in Canada rose 44% between December 2019 and February 2022, with Vancouver and Toronto hardest hit by the spike.

But not everyone is convinced the new law will contain prices. Some critics say the housing crisis is due to national issues, and cannot be solved by banning foreigners from buying real estate as investment. A report published by Baker Insights Group shows that non-Canadian residents purchased just 1% of all the properties sold in 2020. Instead of a ban, the New Democratic Party, Trudeau’s government partner, argued for a 20% tax on the sale of homes to individuals who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

Source: El Pais

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The 850sqm of land and the small house on it last sold in 1969 for just $17,000 (which adjusted for inflation equates to $139,815 today) to the Walker family, who have lived at 9 Collingwood Avenue in the suburb of Cabarita ever since.

Bidders at the May 20 auction will have to be ready fork out because of the property’s waterside location, sitting on the Parramatta River’s Frances Bay.

‘Realise your waterfront dreams with this first class parcel of land showcasing a sunlit Easterly aspect and direct water frontage to France Bay,’ the property’s listing by real estate agent Horwood Nolan reads.

The listing goes on to claim the property ‘offers the perfect blank canvas for luxury duplex development or to create the luxurious waterfront haven you have always dreamed of enjoying with family and friends’.

It comes with a concrete boat ramp and a small private beach with 18 metres of frontage to the water.

Horwood Nolan boasts that the ‘prized waterfront playground’ in the ‘centre of Sydney’ is ‘located in one of Cabarita’s most prestigious neighbourhoods’.

The listing promises that there are ‘elite private schools, cafes, restaurants and direct transport to the CBD at your doorstep’.

Australian property prices are climbing again for the first time in a year despite 11 monthly interest rate rises over the past year.

National house and unit prices together in March rose by 0.6 per cent to an average $704,723, CoreLogic data showed.

This was the first increase since April 2022, back when the Reserve Bank of Australia cash rate was still at a record-low of 0.1 per cent.

Australia’s biggest cities Sydney and Melbourne had the biggest increases despite being the most sensitive to the RBA’s 11 consecutive monthly increases that have taken the cash rate to an 11-year high of 3.85 per cent.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said Australia’s influx of migrants – with at least 650,000 expected over the next two financial years – would keep pushing up prices as demand outstripped supply.

‘With rental markets this tight, it’s likely we are seeing some spillover from renting into purchasing, although, with mortgage rates so high, not everyone who wants to buy will be able to qualify for a loan,’ he said.

‘Similarly, with net overseas migration at record levels and rising, there is a chance more permanent or long-term migrants who can afford to, will skip the rental phase and fast track a home purchase simply because they can’t find rental accommodation.’

Source: Daily Mail

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Those were some of the statistics highlighted in RE/MAX Canada’s 2023 Cottage Trends report, which identifies patterns across the country’s recreational property markets.

But take the report’s observations with a grain of salt: Whistler’s unique real estate market is difficult to compare to any other community’s, said Stefanie Hostetter, RE/MAX Sea to Sky Real Estate CEO—even those similarly focused around recreation and popular among second homeowners.

“We have the highest-value homes and recreational properties in Canada,” she said. “Muskoka doesn’t compare. Tofino is beautiful, but it doesn’t compare.”

On a national basis, RE/MAX Canada doesn’t differentiate residential properties from tourist accommodation in quite the same way Whistler’s real estate industry does, Hostetter explained. With such a limited inventory of properties listed and low number of transactions each quarter across those “micro-niches”—ranging from Whistler’s high-end luxury market and occupancy-restricted condos to part-time ownership opportunities in Phase II properties—even one outlying luxury sale can skew average prices, she said.

In the first quarter (Q1) of 2022, Whistler recorded 236 sales, according to Hostetter. Of those, 13 were priced over $5 million, and five fell between the $10-million and $15-million mark.

“Those are big numbers for a small number of sales,” Hostetter said.

“This year, we had 136 sales [in Q1], but none of them were over $9 million. Our biggest sale was $8.6 million,” she said. “When you’re talking about double the amount of luxury sales in terms of number of sales, plus the higher value of those sales, in 2022 we had a much higher total-dollar-value sell in Q1 than in 2023. So that’s the story—it’s a pure case of what is selling, and not how much certain properties are selling for.”

For Q1 of 2023, the median sale price of Whistler properties “increased both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter for townhouses and condos, while the market saw a slight decrease in the median price of single-family homes,” according to the Whistler Real Estate Company’s (WREC) market report.

As of Tuesday, May 2, there were 194 properties listed for sale in Whistler—“from chalets to parking stalls,” said Hostetter—and 51 in Pemberton.

That’s up from last year, when there were approximately 90 Whistler listings on May 1, 2022, said WREC realtor Dave Brown.

“That had been pretty consistent,” he said. “We were hovering somewhere around 75 to 90 listings, and as we saw the year go on in 2022, by July we got to 176 listings, and then as we went along, that trend continued with the higher number of listings, fluctuating between about 175 and 150.

“Although listing inventory went up—in some cases almost close to double—it was still at very historically low levels,” added Brown, who has posted weekly market reports for the resort to his website since 2008. That’s compared to years like 2010, when there were 800 properties listed for sale in Whistler that April, or even April 2015, when Whistler counted about 380 listings.

Even with inventory on the lower end of the spectrum—Whistler had about 250 listings in April 2020, Brown said—the resort saw a higher-than-usual volume of properties sold in the first couple years of the pandemic.

That pace slowed in 2022 as the Bank of Canada continued raising its benchmark interest rates, from 0.25 per cent in March 2022 to 4.5 per cent in January of this year.

With interest rates predicted to remain steady for the foreseeable future, realtors say buyers’ confidence is returning.

“I think a lot of people were expecting a lot more inventory to come on, and that really didn’t occur compared to historical levels,” said Brown.

For the average buyer, “We’re starting to realize that life events are still causing us to move, and that’s why we’re seeing this heating-up of the market right now,” said Hostetter.

The realtore expects “we might see a little bit of pent-up demand from the last eight months,” she added, “because [buyers] have held off and were waiting to see what happened [with interest rates]. Now we kind of know.”

Brown said Whistler buyers started becoming more active in February, with activity continuing to pick up as the year has progressed. “Definitely in April we’ve seen one of our busiest weeks for property sales,” he noted.

Hostetter has also noted more buyers coming into the RE/MAX Sea to Sky office inquiring about properties in “the last couple of weeks,” she said. “We have seen well-priced properties in good condition go for multiple offers. That is coming back.”

That’s all to say Whistler remains a seller’s market.

That does fall in line with what some realtors and economists are expecting to see across the country in the coming months, according to the RE/MAX Cottage Trends report. The study predicts the national average price in recreational markets will rise about 0.9 per cent in 2023.

Still, it’s not the worst time to be a buyer in Whistler, even with interest rates higher than in recent years.

“Back in 2021 or early 2022, if you wanted to put an offer in on the property, it often involved having to do it without due diligence or enough time for subject conditions [if you wanted your offer to be successful] and maybe a multiple-offer situation,” said Brown. “Although we are seeing some multiple-offer situations, we’re seeing more the ability to have some time, potentially, for doing due diligence, like building inspections, getting your financing approved, that kind of thing.”

Source: PIQUE

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Japan has a glut of older, abandoned homes in rural areas, as Insider has previously reported. With the country’s population in decline, there simply aren’t enough people willing to purchase these houses.

The country has at least 8.5 million such “akiya,” the Japanese word for unoccupied home, according to government data from 2018. Some experts believe there are as many as 11 million empty houses. When owners of these traditional homes die, those who inherit the properties often don’t want them or are unable to maintain them. In Japan, land remains valuable, while houses lose value over time and are often torn down and rebuilt.

Government officials are concerned that growing numbers of akiyas are hurting their efforts to revitalize rural parts of the country. So they’re subsidizing renovations and selling homes often for around $25,000, and sometimes for as little as $500.

Americans are getting in on the deal. They’re increasingly buying up these houses and restoring them, the New York Times reported.

Matthew Ketchum, a Pittsburgh native who lives in Tokyo, is taking advantage of the akiya market in a different way. In 2020, he co-founded a real estate consultancy, called Akiya & Inaka, that markets and sells akiya and other traditional homes, the Times reported. Ketchum said he’s seen a strong growth in interest from American buyers.

“At first, we were getting most of our inquiries from Japan residents, Australians and Singaporeans,” Ketchum told the Times. “That has changed now, with the vast majority of our international clients being based in the U.S.”

Jaya and Chihiro Thursfield, whose experience Insider reported on in 2021, moved to Japan from London in 2017 and bought an abandoned akiya less than an hour outside Tokyo for $30,000, or three million Japanese yen, in 2019. They spent about $150,000 and two years renovating the home, where they’ve lived with their twin sons and cats since December 2020.

The Thursfields, who were also profiled by the Times, have documented their renovations on Youtube, where viewers can see how they transformed a home largely in disrepair into a beautiful, minimalist property.

“This was truly an abandoned house in terms of the declined inheritance and everything left behind by the previous owners,” Jaya, who’s Australian, told Insider.

Source: Business Insider

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