There’s Not This Crazy Deluge Of Offers Like Before
A report from CTV News Vancouver in Canada. “Data released Friday showed that those looking to buy a single family detached home in the city last month forked over about $1.5 million in Metro Vancouver, but recent listings suggest that the benchmark is falling. CTV News found a number of East Vancouver homes priced under then $1 million mark during a search of MLS listings on Monday, including one that sold for $560,000 below the initial asking price. Sutton West Coast realtor David Hutchinson has been tracking plunging prices and found several detached homes listed below $1 million, some of which had been recently renovated.”
“‘If you want to sell, you have to be priced sharply, and you see a lot of price drops,’ Hutchinson told CTV. And even with price drops, he added, he’s seen many sale prices lower than what sellers are asking for. He said he knew of one home in the west side of the city that was initially priced at $3.9 million, but when it didn’t sell, the owners reduced the price. They kept reducing it in small increments, but eventually they couldn’t wait any longer, and had to drop the price by nearly $1 million.”
“Another home on West 8th in Kitsilano was listed for $2.5 million, but could only fetch $1.6 million. ‘There’s not this crazy deluge of offers coming in like before, when you could price it below the market value and wait for all the offers to come in. That’s not happening anymore,’ Hutchinson said.”
From Estate Agent Today on the UK. “Transaction volumes across all of London are 48 per cent lower than they were a year ago, claims an estate agency - and in prime parts of the capital, transactions are 60 per cent down. London agency Portico says that in Westminster in April this year, after the deadline for investment buyers to beat the April 1 stamp duty deadline, volumes dropped to below 100 transactions in a month to a record low of 84. Transaction volume levels have remained ‘critically low’ since that time, the agency says. It claims prices are only just beginning to show annual drops - although other agents have reported falling prices for some time.”
“‘Unless action is taken to re-establish the natural movement of the whole market it’s likely this could be a serious issue and we will see prices fall’ warns the firm’s regional sales director Mark Lawrinson.”
The National on United Arab Emirates. “Rents have fallen by 9.4 per cent across Abu Dhabi’s residential investment areas since the start of the year according to new research. The decline outpaced a fall of about 5.2 per cent in the value of homes over the same period, according to a report from Cluttons. Sea view villas on Saadiyat Island had the greatest falls in value, with prices dropping by nearly 18 per cent over the first nine months of the year. Mid-range apartments on Reem Island had the second biggest falls in value with prices down by 11.1 per cent over the same period, Cluttons said.”
“High-end villas also recorded the biggest falls in rents. Cluttons said that rents for villas on Saadiyat Island fell by nearly 25 per cent between January and September and were expected to fall further in the fourth quarter. ‘We have seen a notable acceleration in the residential market correction as a result of increasing global economic uncertainty and the protracted oil and gas sector’s decline, building during Q3 and being further exacerbated as we wait to understand the full impact of Mr Trump’s election as president of the United States of America,’ said Faisal Durrani, the head of research for Cluttons.”
The New Strait Times on Malaysia. “The asking price for real estate is expected to drop further next year due to a more challenging market for property developers, according to findings by online property portal PropertyGuru Group. PropertyGuru Malaysia country manager Sheldon Fernandez said this would be evident in high-rise units where certain segments are facing oversupply. ‘With the completion of many new developments flooding the market next year, there is likely to be a drop in selling prices due to lack of demand, and some may be motivated to move their units quickly due to their lack of holding power,’ he said.”
The New Zealand Advisor. “Auckland house prices have stopped rising for the first time in seven years, according to new data from Barfoot and Thompson. ‘Signs the rate of price increase has been slowing have been there for some months but November’s sales data confirms that for the time being at least, Auckland prices have stopped rising,’ said Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson. ‘Both the average sales price and the median price in November were down on those for October. What puts November’s lower prices into context is that November and December are traditionally when prices peak for the year, and this is the first time in eight years that November’s average and median sales prices have been below those for the previous October.’”
“‘The market is not over reacting to the changes occurring. Clearance rates under the hammer at auctions were 30 percent in November with another 20 percent being sold in the 24 hours following auction. Those sellers who were realistic and prepared to trim their reserve price achieved sales and buyers were confident in meeting near record prices,’ he said.”
The Warwick Daily News in Australia. “In a tell tale sign of Gladstone’s property market a million-dollar home in Kin Kora is selling for $750,000. Owners Brian Headley and Kirstene Staib dropped the price from $980,000 in a desperate attempt to find a buyer. For more than 12 months the couple has listed their five-bedroom home which was once the place their three children grew up. Mr Headley said he never expected it to be this hard to sell his home of six years, which he says is his pride and joy.”
“They have spent $200,000 on renovations including landscaping and roofing their deck. Mr Headley, former owner of Uncle Brian’s Used Cars, and his parnter Ms Staib are keen to retire and move to Thailand once they find a happy buyer for their home. He said they were serious about selling in October, dropping the price, after he closed his car yard business. As they reduced the price of the house by $550,000 and spent $200,000 on renovations, they have spent or reduced about $750,000.”
“‘We put it on the market 12 months ago for $1.3 million,’ Mr Headley said. ‘This is great value for someone. It’s hard to swallow when you’re losing so much … But it’s time for us to go, we can’t sit here and wait.’”