City property price divide

ASKING prices for Northside homes have risen more than Southside properties over the past year according to figures from property website, Daft.ie.

Prices for homes in the North County and the North City are up by 15 and 18.7 per cent while those in South County and South City rose by 14 and 16.2 per cent.

In the city centre the average price is now

?¬268,517, an increase of 26 per cent while in West Dublin the asking cost is up by 19.2 per cent to

?¬223,400.

Prices in most parts of Dublin rose by three per cent in the first three months of 2015, although by slightly less in the most expensive region, South County Dublin.

Nationally, the average asking price reached its lowest point in the third quarter of 2013 and has risen 18.4 per cent since then. In Dublin, however, the bottom was reached in the second quarter of 2012 and prices are up by an average of 37 per cent.

For the first time in nearly four years, quarterly growth of prices in Dublin was slower than elsewhere in the country. Prices in Dublin are now 2.9 per cent higher than in late 2014, whereas outside Dublin prices rose by 5.9 per cent in the same three-month period.

Author of the Daft.ie Report, Ronan Lyons, suggested reasons for the figures, which were released last week.

“It is clear that the Central Bank rules have had an impact on the market,

? he said.

“Dublin prices are now anchored to real economic conditions, with survey respondents expecting significantly slower house price growth now than a year ago.

“Similarly, compared to a year ago, a far higher proportion of respondents, in the capital and elsewhere, indicated the need to save for a deposit as a key reason for delaying buying a home.

“Outside Dublin, the Central Bank rules that link mortgages and incomes seem to have had, if anything, a positive impact on prices. The fact that house prices vary across the country by far more than incomes do means demand should reshuffle from
Dublin to elsewhere in the country.

“While this may sound helpful, it does not address the underlying lack of supply in Dublin, which needs to be addressed as a matter of priority.

?

Lyons also says the housing market that has emerged since the start of 2015 is very different to the one that existed before September last year, when the new Central Bank rules were first mooted.

“To see how, compare price growth in Dublin versus those outside the capital,

? he explained.

“The first quarter of 2015 was the first time in a long time that ex-Dublin prices rose by more than those in the capital. The contrast is stark, with ex-Dublin prices seeing twice the increase (six per cent vs three per cent).

?