House asking prices fall 2.5% in Dublin and by almost 1% nationally but demand remains strong
Asking prices fell by 2.5% in Dublin in the third quarter and by a more modest 0.8% nationally, according to the latest residential property price report from MyHome.ie.
A report from MyHome.ie shows the average price of a 3-bed semi is now €268,000 - and €375,000 in Dublin.
The annual rate of inflation for newly listed properties nationally is now 5.9% while it’s just 2.2% in Dublin, the slowest pace of increase in two years.
Asking prices in the capital have increased by 2% since this time last year, but there's been a slowdown in the last few months.
Author of the report, Conall McCoille, explains what's behind it: "The slow down is due to Central Bank rules in Dublin
"If you take the average house in Dublin, it's around nine times the average income.
"Ireland in general and particular in Dublin is not cheap any longer so by that stretched affordability and the Central Bank saying you can't take on dangerous levels of mortgage debt like you did in the Celtic Tiger period we're inevitably going to see a slowdown and we're beginning to see that now."
Earlier, Mr MacCoille said: “The double-digit price inflation we experienced earlier this year was simply not sustainable and the slowdown we predicted earlier this year has now materialised.
"While the magnitude of the drop this quarter may be surprising, some of the quarterly decline may be seasonal, reflecting typically weaker prices at the end of a busy summer trading season.”
He continued: “With jobs and wages growth both exceeding 3%, underlying demand remains exceptionally strong and we expect inflation to equal 8% by December.
"Brexit of course remains something of a wild card but the key assumption here is that the UK will move to the transition period in March next year, maintaining the status-quo by effectively remaining inside the single market”
In the 12 months to June 2018 completions equalled 16,300, already well ahead of the 14,446 recorded in 2017.
In total planning permissions for 26,750 units have been granted in the 12 months to June.
Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie said the increase in homebuilding was beginning to feed through to improved stock levels, particularly in Dublin.
“There were 22,658 residential properties listed for sale on MyHome.ie in September, up 6% on last year.
"This is the second consecutive quarter in which the stock listed for sale has increased, breaking the downward trend over the past six years.
"The improvement is even better in Dublin with 5,000 properties listed for sale, up 18% on last year."
She continued: “We are also seeing an increase in transaction figures.
"The Property Price Register indicates that 34,706 properties have been sold so far this year and we estimate this represents a 6% growth in transaction volumes, although the register is not yet fully up to date.
"We believe the total figure of transactions for the year will be close to 60,000, which would be an increase of around 9%.
“The average time to sale agreed continues to decline – nationally its 3.5 months, down from 3.8 months previously.
"In Dublin, it’s steady at 2.9. This is consistent with higher transaction levels rather than a result of any slowdown in the housing market”
