CSO RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY PRICE INDEX OCT 23

EXPERT REACTION

Ian Lawlor, MD of Lotus Investment Group

“We can see from today’s report that all eyes are on the regional towns and cities across the country when it comes to buying homes. 2024 is likely to see momentum continue to gather pace in these areas. Dublin has become simply unattainable for most First Time Buyers and they are now turning their attention elsewhere. As we witness regional house prices continue to outpace that of the capital, it is becoming increasingly clear that cities and towns all over the country hold untapped potential.

The working-from-home trend has played no small part in the growth in popularity of towns and cities throughout the country. Recent Census figures show that there are almost three times as many people who mainly work from home today than there were in 2016.

There are now 259,467 people working from home in Ireland, according to the latest Census figures, with Dublin having the highest number of people doing so (87,813) followed by Cork City and County (31,770), Galway (13,741), Kildare (13,472), Meath (11,074) and Wicklow (9,552).

Having a homestead in the main commercial hubs of Ireland is no longer absolutely necessary. Not least, the desire or need to live in the capital has abated for many – particularly for those with families. The persistent challenge of housing supply remains a nationwide concern, primarily attributed to delays in obtaining planning permissions. Simply put we need more planning approvals in regional hubs and areas so that more homes are built there.”

Joey Sheahan, Head of Credit at online brokers MyMortgages.ie, and author of The Mortgage Coach

“The last Residential Property Price Index of the year is very much in keeping with what we’ve witnessed throughout 2023 and what we expect to see more of in 2024 – a stabilisation of property prices and a growth in popularity and demand outside of Dublin. After 16 months of mortgage pain for thousands of households across the country, following 10 rate hikes by the ECB, the outlook for 2024 is thankfully more positive and those would-be homeowners who have been preparing all year to, hopefully, buy their first home in 2024 should be off to a good start.We are unlikely to see any drastic increases in house prices in the short term at least. It is also not expected that the ECB will make any more announcements to increase rates.

Though we are reaching a plateau, the growth we have experienced over the last number of years in residential property is of significant importance to many mortgage holders out there – and my guess is that most are unaware of this. But higher value means lower loan-to-value ratios on mortgages, which in turn means that these homeowners, who reach a certain threshold, should be able to secure better value rates from their lender. This is something that every mortgage holder should
look at as we move into the new year.”

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Michael McDonnell Managing Editor of Irish Construction Industry Magazine & Plan Magazine

Email: michael@irishconstruction.com    WWW.MCDMEDIA.IE         WWW.IRISHCONSTRUCTION.COM