Of the countries within the European Union, Ireland, with it’s close historical, social and trade relations with Britain, feared it would be by far the worst affected with Brexit. However, after much negotiation, the firm line taken by the Irish government on ensuring no hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (which is part of the UK) after Brexit, has done much to calm the nerves of people who cross the Border daily for work, or do a lot of cross-border business.
The assurances given by the UK government to Ireland, and therefore the EU too, guarantee a range of freedoms on the island from education, health and cross-border initiatives to no checkpoints. While a degree of uncertainty remains, it does look better now than it did a year ago with signs that Britain could be heading towards a softer Brexit, potentially bringing considerable relief to Ireland.
The country’s economy and the property market which had collapsed following the global financial crisis has now made remarkable progress and the property sector, particularly in the higher end of the market, is on the up, as a detailed study of it shows.
An analysis of data contained in the national Property Price Register (PPR) has revealed steady nationwide residential sales of 12.43 billion euros last year, a figure that is likely to increase when late filings are taken into account. It represents a rise of almost a billion euros on 2016, and a 26 per cent increase in the number of one million-plus transactions in Dublin in 2017 compared to the previous year highlighting the increasing availability of funds.
Despite the slight increase on overall spending on private houses last year, there were a number of marked differences at the top end of the market, particularly compared to 2016 and 2015. What the data also suggests is that the top end of the market that is steadying somewhat and is in a cycle — one dominated by perhaps more normal sale as opposed to potentially forced, receivership sales. It is also influenced by extremely discerning buyers with specific demand and tastes.
Director and head of residential sales at Knight Frank, a leading agency, Rena O’Kelly said: “Those looking to get a foothold in Dublin’s prime residential market would have needed more than 930,000 euros to spend in 2017. The current demand is being driven by a combination of expats returning home and domestic buyers who have done well as a result of the recovery on the economy. The domestic buyer is actively re-engaging in the Dublin market, and many of them are prepared to pay a premium for a design-led turnkey product.”
She added: “Although prime property is selling well, it is an exceptionally price-sensitive market —sellers should be mindful that would-be buyers are taking their time and are very considered when making a purchasing decision.” Prices are still rising if the current rates of property price inflation carried through the new year, they would amount to annual price increases of 6 per cent in the capital city and 4 per cent in other cities.
An inflation slow-down came at the end of a very heated year, during which the prices of semi-detached houses in many counties surged by more than 15 per cent, with some experiencing rises of 20 per cent or higher. A semi in the capital added 12.5 per cent overall in 2017 and costs 438,000 euros, while semis in other regional cities averaged a more affordable 238,625 euros. Elsewhere, 10 markets saw prices increase by 15 per cent, or more against a year ago, and three saw the price of the semi shoot up more than 20 per cent.
Overall, the average house price across the country rose by 11.3 per cent over the past 12 months — compared with 7.7 per cent nationally in 2016. The net level of mortgage lending in the Irish economy has increased for the first time in seven years, according to new figures released by the Central Bank. The latest money and banking statistics report shows that net mortgage lending rose by 169 million euros in the year to November 2017.
While the figure is relatively small within the context of Ireland’s overall mortgage market, it will be seen as both a sign of the economic recovery which has taken place since the bailout by the EU/IMF/ECB troika in 2010, and as an indicator of the more recent uptake in the country’s housing market.
Andy jalil
andyjalil@aol.com
The author is our foreign correspondent based in the UK. He can be reached at andyjalil@aol.com
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