County Analysis : Two Bedroom Apartment
With affordability increasingly stretched and the period of catch-up coming to an end in many counties, cheaper two-bedroom apartment prices are still seeing rapid gains across Ireland. In Dublin, median prices are up 4% to €260,000, 3% in Kildare to €175,000, 10% in Meath to €170,000 and 1% in Wicklow to €250,000.
Eleven of the 26 counties have seen double-digit increases in asking prices over the last 12 months. These include: Carlow (21%), Cavan (22%) Donegal (25%), Laois (13%), Limerick (13%), Offaly (17%), Sligo (27%), Tipperary (14%) and Waterford (15%).
County Analysis: 4 Bedroom Semi-Detached
At the upper end of the Market, especially in urban areas, four-bedroom Semi-Detached house price gains are clearly cooling. The median price in Dublin was €470,000, up 4% on the year. In Kildare, prices are up 1.8% but are down 2.8% in Meath.
One year ago, nine counties were seeing double-digit annual gains, but that figure has now slipped to just three. Leitrim (25%), Limerick (16%) and Wicklow (18%) saw the fastest price gains to €125,000, €260,000 and €435,000 respectively. However, prices have fallen over the past 12 months in several counties – Carlow (-2.5%), Donegal (-6.2%), Kerry (-4.1%) and Louth (-2%).
These trends together with strict Central Bank lending rules are helping to bring stability to a volatile market. The price-income multiple is a standard measure of affordability worldwide. In the days before property became a fast moving financial asset an affordable home for a worker was considered to be three to four times their income. The Central Banks mortgage restrictions, which limit people to borrowing three and a half times their income, reflect this.
The latest figures show headline property-price inflation has cooled significantly in the past year. In Dublin, the slowdown has been even more pronounced with prices rising just 0.6% in the year to May. The annual rate of inflation in the capital had been negative in April.
All of the above are a good indicator of where the market is at at the moment and why a levelling in prices may be good.
