PROPERTY prices in Dublin are starting to show real signs of recovery according to three recent reports.
In their quarterly price gauge, property agents DNG reported a third consecutive quarterly rise in values in the capital, suggesting prices are a whoping 9.5 per cent higher than last year.
But DNG say that the average price of a resale property in Dublin is still an incredible 62.7 per cent lower than at the peak of market. And they also warn that the average increase of over nine per cent, compared to just two per cent in the 12 months to December 2012, doesn’t signify a return to rapid price inflation in the market.
The DNG price gauge measures the movement in value for different price brackets within a sample of 1,000 homes. The
‘best’ performing bracket during the early part of this year was in the e250,000-e350,000 range which saw prices rise five per cent since January.
“This is logical given that a large proportion of the semi-detached property type stock in Dublin has fallen back into this price range and surveys have shown that semi-detached homes remain the first preference of first-time buyers,
? their report explains.
“The cheapest properties in the market as a whole are often the worst located, or are apartments in less desirable areas or are properties in need of major repair and refurbishment, and as such there has been a much lower level of demand than, for example, in the three bed semi-detached market at the next step up the
‘property ladder’.
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The DNG price gauge says the annual price increase on the Southside is 11.2 per cent, 8.6 per cent on the Northside and six per cent on the Westside
Figures from the latest Myhome.ie price survey are also optimistic, albeit significantly less so. Their report says Dublin prices have remained unchanged for the second quarter in a row with the average price now e236,000, down 56 per cent from peak.
Author of the report, Annette Hughes from DKM Economic Consultants, said the survey indicated that prices are stabilising in Dublin.
“At 4.8 per cent the annual rate of decline in Dublin is about half the national rate,
? she said.
“Overall asking prices in Dublin have been reasonably stable over the last year and this may indicate that they are now levelling off.
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Angela Keegan, managing director of MyHome.ie, said that while improved affordability was welcome for consumers, access to mortgage finance, while improving, remains an issue.
“We want to see a normally functioning property market and hopefully the improved affordability and stabilisation of prices in Dublin and some other areas will persuade buyers and sellers that the time is right to act,
? she said.
According to Myhome.ie the average time to sale agreed in Dublin is six months.
In their latest report Daft.ie put asking prices at e231,000 or 55 per cent below peak levels. They say prices in early 2013 were 0.5 per cent higher than a year ago compared to a fall of 20 per cent seen in the year to March 2012.
Commenting on the report, economist with Daft.ie, Ronan Lyons, said:
“The latest figures show that the gap between prices in Dublin and those elsewhere is growing and growing quite rapidly.
“A year ago, a four-bedroom detached home in South County Dublin was 2.6 times the price of the same property in Mayo but that ratio has since risen to 3.5, well above levels seen at the bubble.
“On its own, the growing differential between Dublin and elsewhere signifies that first-time buyers are no longer prepared to sprawl and pay the costs of long commutes. But with prices actually rising again and only in certain parts of the country, this has even greater implications for the Government, as it suggests that there are not enough properties in areas close to jobs and other amenities that first-time buyers are looking for.
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