US Consumer Confidence Drops as House Prices Rise at the Fastest Rate in 7 Years

This article by AFP of The Telegraph on September 24th, 2013 reveals the decrease in consumer confidence as house prices rise and shortage in jobs and earnings resurfaced.

US consumer confidence fell slightly in September as Americans grew more wary about the outlook in coming months, according to a closely watched report. 

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 79.7 in September, down from a revised 81.8 in August.

Though a decline was expected for September, the figure was weaker than the 80.0 consensus estimate.

"This is in line... with buyers awaiting a battle among lawmakers over raising the Treasury debt ceiling that could threaten a government shutdown," said Nate Kelley of Moody's Analytics.

The Present Situation Index rose to 73.2 in September from 70.9 in August.

The Expectations Index, indicating consumers' views on the outlook six months into the future, dived to 84.1 from 89.0 last month.

"Consumer confidence decreased in September as concerns about the short-term outlook for both jobs and earnings resurfaced, while expectations for future business conditions were little changed," said Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's director of economic indicators.

"While overall economic conditions appear to have moderately improved, consumers are uncertain that the momentum can be sustained in the months ahead."

Consumers' outlook on jobs and incomes in the coming months darkened.

The number of consumers expecting more jobs fell to 16.9pc from 17.5pc in August, while those anticipating fewer jobs rose to 19.7pc from 17.2pc.

Income expectations were sharply lower. Those expecting their incomes to increase tumbled to 15.4pc from 17.5pc.

The concerns about lower incomes could crimp consumer spending, the engine of US economic growth.

The decline in expectations "also gibes with our call for a relatively weak holiday shopping season this year," said Moody's Kelley.

But while consumer confidence declined, a closely-watched survey of house prices across 20 major US cities showed that property values increased 12.4pc in the year to July. The rise, the highest in seven years, was widely expected by economists, but some foresee a cooling over the rest of the year as mortgage rates climb.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the Realtors group, said the surge in sales in August was probably the “last hurrah” for the next year to 18 months as higher prices and the jump in mortgage rates hurts affordability for some buyers.

Article Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/10331727/US-consumer-confidence-slips-as-house-prices-rise-at-the-fastest-rate-in-seven-years.html

Property Market Slide 'Arrested'

In this article by Belfash Telegraph.co.uk on August 30th, 2013 said that research shows that the number of properties sold in Dublin rose at a three year high.
 

The number of properties sold in Dublin soared by 13% in the first half of the year, research showed.

A study found 3,671 homes and apartments were snapped up in the capital by the end of July, compared to 3,252 in the same period last year and 2,409 in 2011.

The value of transactions was also at a three year high with almost 1.2 billion euro raised from sales, up a quarter from 965 million a year earlier.

MyHome.ie revealed while the number of transactions rose in 18 areas across the city and county, they fell in some of the most popular places to buy because of lack of supply.
Dublin 14 - which covers from Churchtown, Rathgar and Rathfarnham - boasted the highest number of sales at 224, but was down 5% on last year.

Elsewhere 207 properties changed hands in west Dublin, a 20% drop from last year, and Dublin 16 had suffered a 2% fall despite 217 sales confirmed.

Angela Keegan, managing director, said the main reason behind the fall in certain areas was a lack of suitable stock.

"These figures reflect the shortage of family homes coming to the market," she said.
"Many people are holding onto their tracker mortgages rather than upsizing but it's clear we need to see more new developments coming on stream in the greater Dublin area."

The property website analysed official figures from the property price register, which last week revealed the cost of a home in Dublin jumped by 8% over the last year. The Central Statistics Office said the figure caused national prices to go up 2.3% despite a drop in sale prices outside the capital.

The figures showed more than two thirds of the 23 postcode areas and Dublin county had a record number of transactions for the first half the year since 2010.

However it is believed the housing market in the first few months of 2013 may have been affected by buyers availing of mortgage interest relief which ended at the end of 2012.

More recent data showed there have been 4,743 transactions in Dublin up to August, compared to a total of 8,984 for all of 2012.

Ms Keegan said the figures were encouraging after six years of falling prices.

"That trend could not continue and the fact it has been arrested in Dublin and prices are beginning to stabilise or rise in most areas is a positive development for the property market in the capital," she added.

Article Source: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/property-market-slide-arrested-29537489.html

 

Wind Turbines Don’t Hurt Property Values

This article by John Upton of grist on August 28, 2013 declares that wind turbine won't hurt property values in contrast to the previous reports.

Some people who learn that wind turbines are going to be built in their neighborhood freak out about a couple of things, but science can help put their minds at ease.

First, they worry that their health will be harmed if they develop so-called “wind turbine syndrome.” But there is no evidence that wind turbines actually cause any of the ailments commonly blamed on them.

Next, they worry that the value of their property will fall. “Here come those eggshell-colored spinning things that produce energy but no pollution,” they might mutter to one another in hushed tones. “There goes the neighborhood.”

Fortunately, this concern is equally unwarranted, according to a comprehensive new study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers [PDF]. From the study:

We collected data from more than 50,000 home sales among 27 counties in nine states. These homes were within 10 miles of 67 different wind facilities, and 1,198 sales were within 1 mile of a turbine — many more than previous studies have collected. The data span the periods well before announcement of the wind facilities to well after their construction. …

Regardless of model specification, we find no statistical evidence that home values near turbines were affected in the post-construction or post-announcement/pre-construction periods. …

[T]he core results of our analysis consistently show no sizable statistically significant impact of wind turbines on nearby property values.

This was the largest study of its kind, but it was not the first. Studies published by the same laboratory in 2009 and 2011 reached the same conclusions.

“Although there have been claims of significant property value impacts near operating wind turbines that regularly surface in the press or in local communities, strong evidence to support those claims has failed to materialize in all of the major U.S. studies conducted thus far,” said lead researcher Ben Hoen.

Hoen and his colleagues dug up similar but highly localized academic studies focused on parts of Illinois, New York, Ontario, the U.K., and the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Only the latter study found any evidence of a potential effect of wind turbines on property values.

So unless you’re investing in real estate in western Germany, you can breathe easy about any nearby wind energy developments. They won’t harm your health, and they won’t diminish the value of your property portfolio.

Article Source: http://grist.org/news/wind-turbines-dont-hurt-property-values/

UK Property Prices Rise By 5.5%

This article by Natasha Al-Atassi of Select Property on August 22, 2013 reveals that properties in the UK rose in price by 5.5% between August 2012 and August 2013 according to Rightmove.

Summary:

• House prices in the UK are £249,199 on average
• This is an increase of 5.5% in August 2012
• London saw the greatest price increase, rising 10.2% in the 12 months

Property values in the UK have risen by 5.5% over the last year, according to recent figures from Rightmove.

In the property search website’s latest House Price Index, it revealed average property prices rose significantly between August 2012 and August 2013, taking the typical asking price to £249,199.

According to figures, the average cost of a detached home in the UK is £364,254, up by 4.2% year-on-year, and semi-detached properties are typically £204,392, an increase of 3.8% over the 12 months.

Rightmove also reported terraces rose in value by 4.4%, taking them to £188,445, while apartments average £209,652, an increase of 5.9% over the year.

The area of the country with the most expensive average prices is London, which saw prices grow by 10.2% over the year to £501,067.

Comparatively, costs in the north were the cheapest in the UK with values averaging £149,362 in August, a rise of 0.8% over the year, followed by Yorkshire and Humberside’s low prices at £154,237, and the north-west at £164,503.

These results come after Knight Frank and Markit’s released findings that showed 18% of British homeowners believe their property increased in value in July, which is the fifth consecutive month households have thought real estate values in the UK are on the rise.

Article Source:  http://www.selectproperty.com/2013/08/rightmove-uk-property-prices-rise-by-5-5/