Buying A Property In Ireland

Houses on the Irish coast. Country Guide: Ireland

Ireland's property market has seen enormous highs and lows in the past few years. So is it a good place to buy?

By Gordon Miller

Ireland's tiger economy of the 1990s and early noughties, which witnessed house price increases of 253 per cent (the highest in all of Europe) from 1997 to 2006, according to The Economist, have proven to be unsustainable.

The sheen on the tiger's coat began to dull in 2007, declining 9.9 per cent year-on-year to end of August 2008. The average house price has fallen EU76,000 since the peak of the bubble in February 2007, according to figures from the Permanent TSB/ESRI house price index. In August 2009, the average house price was EU235,260, down 24.4 per cent from an average peak of EU311,078. Some (but not all by any means) analysts posit that the worst of the downturn is now in the past. The Sherry FitzGerald Housing Index noted national house prices fell by 5.2 per cent during the second quarter of the year, which is significantly less than the 8.3 per cent of the first three months of the year.

Marian Finnegan, Chief Economist, Sherry FitzGerald Group said, 'The market began to witness an increase in viewing levels at the beginning of 2009, which has gradually translated into an uplift in the number of transactions. Furthermore, the limited supply of new properties coming on the market in Dublin, has resulted in an erosion in the choice of second-hand stock available. As such the emerging evidence appears to suggest that the property market is showing signs of stabilising. There is no doubt that current house purchasers are prudent and thrifty. Equally, they are conscious that the cost of living is down, interest rates are at an all time low, which makes purchasing more affordable. Moreover, for many there is now value in the Irish house market and evidence of more "Sold" signs appears to be giving viewers more confidence in committing to purchase.'