Kerry House Price Report 2020

The price of the average three-bed semi in County Kerry is expected to rise by 4% in the next 12 months, according to a survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.

Prices in the county rose by 1.1% between September and December to €225,500 with average three-bed semis rising by €10,000 in Tralee due to a shortage of supply and increased numbers of mortgage-approved buyers.

The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland's typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an up-to-date picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.

“We are seeing significantly more mortgage availability than heretofore. We have seen a supply issue in Tralee, so demand is high for the average house,” said Eddie Barrett of REA North’s in Tralee, where time taken to sell rose in Q4 2019 from eight weeks to 10.

“With the Brexit situation hopefully out of the way, the market may see an improvement from UK buyers purchasing in Kerry.”

In Killarney, agents report that sales have slowed, and no new developments have commenced.

“2020 is going to see a big problem as builders cannot make money on the prices being achieved,” said Donal Culloty of REA Coyne and Culloty in Killarney, where time to sell remained at eight weeks over the past three months.

“New regulations, Irish Water charges, local council charges and the Government's take in taxes such as VAT has made it impossible to build.”

Average house prices nationally fell annually for the first time since the economic recovery, the Q4 REA Average House Price Index found.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country fell by -0.6% over the past year after a 4.6% annual rise in 2018.

The average family home nationally now costs €234,704, the survey found – a drop of -0.1% on the Q3 figure of €235,009.

However, drops across the country are far lower than the preceding quarter (-0.4%), indicating that some confidence returned to the market in the final 13 weeks of the year, with the prospect of a resolution to Brexit uncertainty.

Three-bed semi-detached houses in Dublin city registered a fourth consecutive quarter fall (-0.6%) since the end of September and have decreased by -4.3% compared to December 2018.

The price of the average three-bed semi-detached house in the capital’s postcode districts now stands at €425,833 – down €20,000 from €445,167 a year ago.

The absence of small investors due to Brexit uncertainty and a lack of incentives has also removed stimulus from the resales market and added to supply in many cases as landlords leave the market nationwide.

Prices fell slightly by -0.05% in the commuter counties in the past three months, with the average house now selling for €246,500 – an annual fall of 1%.

Prices in the country’s major cities outside Dublin – Cork, Galway, Waterford – remained largely unchanged

The highest annual price increases (2.8%) were once again seen in the rest of the country’s towns which rose in selling price by an average of almost €5,000 in the past year and 0.3% in the past three months to €162,207.