Latest news with #houseprices
The Sun
14 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
One in every 20 homes for sale in Britain is now priced at more than £1million as number doubles in six years
ONE in every 20 homes for sale in Britain is now priced at more than £1million, figures suggest. Property website Rightmove said that the number has doubled in six years. It recorded 103 per cent more homes above the threshold between January and April 2025, than in the same period in 2019. It means more than five per cent of properties are at least £1million, compared with less than three per cent six years ago. In London's commuter belt areas, such as St Albans, Windsor and Maidenhead, Three Rivers and Waverley, about one in every five homes for sale now has a price tag of at least seven figures. Cornwall has had the biggest increase in its numbers, with the pandemic rush for seaside space fuelling demand. And, while London still has the highest concentration of £1million-plus homes, all the areas with the biggest increase in numbers are outside the capital. Toby Leek, from the National Association of Estate Agents, said: 'Buyers want varying characteristics and locations, making rural, seaside and picturesque areas more appealing.' Property expert Colleen Babcock said: "The surge in million-pound homes for sale across Great Britain is substantial. "This isn't just happening in London; places like Cornwall, Uttlesford, and Somerset are also seeing big jumps in the number of high-value properties. "Mole Valley is a standout, with 22% of its homes for sale now in the million-pound bracket." We lived in one of the UK's most expensive seaside towns but house prices were mental - so we saved £293k by packing up and moving abroad 1
ABC News
14 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Why buyers are fearful of Sydney's housing market right now
Sydney's rising house prices have long been a thorn in the side of prospective buyers, given that the most expensive in the country has experienced sustained growth over the past 25 years. A new Domain report suggests that trend is set to continue, with the median house price in Sydney forecast to rise by 7 per cent in the 2025-26 financial year. The record-high $1.83 million median price tag is inhibitive to most, considering national median earnings are $67,600, as per Australian Bureau of Statistics data. Broderick Wright, a Western Sydney real estate agent who shows homes in Oatlands and Parramatta, said lower interest rates, strong demand, and a limited supply of homes were fuelling price rises. "We're finding now that buyers are having to become savvy in what they buy in terms of compromise," he said. "They're happy to make a compromise and just try and get in, whether that means they move suburbs or move further afield in terms of away from the CBD." The ABC went to three open homes in Sydney's west to see how people trying to enter the property market are really feeling. Kathryn McCorkindale is a young mother of two who is trying to find more room for her growing family. "I have an apartment nearby, two bedrooms and two small kids, and at some point we'll need to upsize, but it's tricky," she said while looking at a property in Parramatta. "It's frankly terrifying, and I feel really angry about the state of housing in Sydney." Ms McCorkindale, who is an architect, believes the solution lies in planning and density. "I think successive governments have given lip service to show that … they want to appear like they're doing something, but they're not actually doing anything. "People are going into a lot of debt trying to make the dream happen; you wonder if staying put is the better option." Kim Lam is in her early 30s and has been looking for a home for more than six months. "It's difficult — anyone who's a first-home buyer with interest rates coming down, it's great, but then you know there'll be a surge in housing prices," she told ABC while viewing a Parramatta apartment. Ms Lam believes the government incentives to help first-home buyers are good but not effective for buyers like herself. "I tend to fall just outside the people who benefit from any of these incentives. Every year it just gets more difficult. "It must be working, otherwise there would be an uproar of some sort," she said. "People sitting in my kind of bracket, it's still kind of difficult to go at it by myself, and you don't have bank of mum and dad to assist you." Despite renting and living in Leichhardt, Warrwick Smith fought rush hour traffic to check out homes in Parramatta. He's looking for a two-or three-bedroom place with two bathrooms but does not believe he will find anything under $2 million. Mr Smith has found himself disappointed with the market pushing more people towards higher-density housing. Pointing at Parramatta's nearby CBD, he said: "My concept of a home has a little to [do] with this Hong Kong style of this place. "It is the stacking up of humanity, which I don't think bears much scrutiny unless you enjoy that sort of lifestyle, and I'm afraid I don't." He is inspecting a heritage-listed home, which means there will be limits on what he can change about the property if he buys it. While he has owned many properties over the years — and therefore is not severely impacted by the increasingly difficult market — he does fear for the future generations. He said he would not mind if house prices came down. "I'd be perfectly happy about that, because it won't all come down together."
BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Annual house price growth slows slightly to 7.5%
House prices in Ireland grew at an average annual rate of 7.5 per cent in April, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The headline rate of house price inflation was essentially unchanged from March's 7.6 per cent and down from 8 per cent in February, the CSO said on Thursday. Advertisement The annual rate of price growth in Dublin, where supply shortages are most acute, accelerated slightly from 6 per cent in March to 6.2 per cent in April. Outside Dublin, house prices were up 8.6 per cent in the 12 months to the end of April, the CSO said, essentially unchanged from March. The median or midpoint price of a home purchased over the period was €365,000, down slightly from €362,500 in the 12 months to March. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown remained the most expensive local authority area in the Republic, with the median price of a home sold standing at €670,000. The A94 Eircode in Blackrock, Co Dublin, was the most expensive postcode with a median price of €750,000.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
House prices sink in wake of stamp duty raid
House prices in the UK fell at their sharpest pace in nearly four years after a temporary cut to stamp duty for cheaper properties came to an end. Between April and March, the average UK property dipped 2.8pc in value to about £265,000, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). On April 1, the stamp duty discount ended, meaning the threshold at which buyers start paying the levy was reduced to £125,000 from £250,000. For first-time buyers in England, the threshold for not paying stamp duty was also reduced from £425,000 to £300,000. It is the steepest decline in monthly house prices since July 2021 when house prices also fell after another stamp duty holiday finished in June that year. Elliott Jordan-Doak, a senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: 'April was the first month that completed mortgages were subject to the higher stamp-duty costs, but we think the fall in house prices was driven by an unwind of activity brought forward, rather than higher taxes hitting demand.' He added that the slowdown in prices is 'expected to be brief' as the housing market normalises in the coming months. London was the only region in England to report an increase in house prices between April and March, with prices rising by 2.3pc in the capital. By contrast, the North East recorded the largest monthly slump as house prices fell 7.4pc. Annual house price growth slowed to 3.5pc in April, down from 7pc in March as home buyers rushed to complete their purchases before the tax holiday came to an end. The stamp duty reduction was introduced by Liz Truss in her mini-Budget in September 2022, but was scrapped just weeks later by Jeremy Hunt in his autumn Budget. The latest house price data comes as stubborn inflation continues to cause headaches for the Bank of England. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is expected to hold rates at 4.25pc on Thursday, dashing hopes for prospective buyers hoping for a reduction in borrowing costs. Last month, the MPC voted to cut the bank rate by 0.25 percentage points from 4.5pc to 4.25pc. However, traders have priced in just one more cut in 2025. Ashley Webb, UK Economist at Capital Economics said he expects 'housing transactions to recover to their pre-pandemic levels and house prices to reach new highs even though mortgage rates will remain higher over the next few years than before the pandemic'. Mr Webb said the strong demand from homebuyers is expected to be supported by borrowers increasing the length of their mortgage term, supporting a continued rise in prices. 'Overall the increase in mortgage terms and looser lending standards has led to a shift in the relationship between housing transactions/prices and mortgage rates that probably has a bit further to run,' he said. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. 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
Irish Times
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Irish house price inflation at 7.5% in April as supply shortages bite
House prices in Ireland grew at an average annual rate of 7.5 per cent in April, amid ongoing supply shortages and surging demand fuelled by Government incentives and expectations of further interest rate cuts. The headline rate of house price inflation was essentially unchanged from March's 7.6 per cent and down from 8 per cent in February, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Thursday. The annual rate of price growth in Dublin, where supply shortages are most acute, accelerated slightly from 6 per cent in March to 6.2 per cent in April. Outside Dublin, house prices were up 8.6 per cent in the 12 months to the end of April, the CSO said, essentially unchanged from March. READ MORE More to follow ...
