Housing was a big issue in the recent general election. The fourth quarter property report from MyHome.ie, a property website owned by The Irish Times, illustrates why this was the case.
House prices rose on average by 8.4 per cent year on year, which is bad enough, but tight supply (just 11,500 units were listed for sale on MyHome in December) resulted in hot competition, In November, the final sum agreed for a median property in Dublin was 8.6 per cent above the asking price. One in seven homes is settling for a minimum of 20 per cent over the asking price, according to the report, authored by Bank of Ireland chief economist Conall MacCoille.
[ Has Fingal County Council found a solution to Ireland’s housing crisis?Opens in new window ]
First-time buyers are now having to spend 28 per cent of their post-tax disposable income on their monthly mortgage payments with their loan-to-income ratio stretching out to 3.37 times versus 3.25 in 2023 thanks to a loosening of the Central Bank of Ireland’s mortgage lending rules.
First-time buyers are also getting older — on average they are 36 years of age now buying their first property, compared with 34 in the UK. All bleak statistics if you’re hoping to get a foot on the property ladder.
MacCoille’s report does at least offer some crumbs of comfort for aspiring buyers. He is forecasting a softening in price growth this year, averaging at 4 per cent. European Central Bank rates are falling and if supply is truly the only solution to the stressed housing market here, MacCoille is at least forecasting a substantial rise in completions to 42,000 this year from 33,000 in 2023, and then to 46,000 in 2026.
Only time will tell if the increase in supply helps to cool the market.
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