Mansion Global Daily: Covid Gains Dwarf Australia’s Price Declines

Covid Gains Dwarf Australia’s Price Declines

While headlines have zeroed in on declining Australian property prices, the recent drops have not dented in the gains made during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nationally, home prices have fallen 3.53% since March, while in the combined capital cities, the decline has been 4.38%. Yet these stumbles are nothing compared to the growth displayed during the height of the pandemic. Across the combined capital cities, home prices are still up 24% compared to pre-pandemic times; while in regional areas, prices are an astronomical 47% higher compared to before Covid-19. As for the recent price slippage? “Rising interest rates since May have constrained buyers and this has caused property prices to decline in most markets,” PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said. realestate.com.au

Condo Sales Plummeted in Greater Miami Area in October

Economic uncertainty, rising interest rates and inflation created the perfect storm for the greater Miami condo market in October. According to the Miami Association of Realtors, existing-condo sales in Miami dropped 34.9% year over year to just 1,183 deals in October, down from a record-setting number of sales in October 2021—1,817 transactions. Condos weren’t the only property type to take the hit in October. Single-family home sales dropped 23.9% year over year, and residential transactions across all property types for the region were down 30.6% year over year. World Property Journal

New York Displaces Hong Kong for World’s Most Expensive Shopping District

For the first time since 2019, Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district is not the world’s most expensive shopping district. According to global real estate company Cushman & Wakefield, the crown belongs to Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, where the average rent grew 14% in the third quarter to US$2,000 per square foot. Alternatively, Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district, which has been contending with an economic slowdown and a dearth of international visitors due to Covid-19, saw average rents drop 41% in the third quarter to US$1,436 per square foot. South China Morning Post

Half of Variable-Rate Mortgages in Canada Have Hit Their Trigger 

Things are about to get more expensive for Canadian borrowers of variable-rate mortgages—home loans in which the interest rate is not fixed. According to estimations by the Bank of Canada, about one-third of all Canadian mortgages are variable-rate, and half of those (13%) have reached the trigger rate, the point at which the interest rate on the mortgage has increased so much that the borrower is no longer covering accrued interest or paying down the principal. Rising interest rates, enacted to combat historic inflation in the nation, means that variable-rate borrowers could be seeing much higher monthly home payments. Vancouver Sun