12% drop in Clare’s mid- market homes

ASKING prices for mid-market homes in Clare have dropped more than 12% since the height of the market in 2006, and by more than 3% in the first quarter of this year.
According to the latest Property Barometer issued by Irish property website, MyHome.ie, asking prices for properties across the country continued to fall over the last three months.
However, the rate of decrease in asking prices has eased nationally for the second successive quarter. The most notable exception being Dublin City South where the average asking price rose by 1.1%.
In County Clare the price of a three-bedroom semi-detached home fell by 3.39% to €231,034 down over 12.35% from peak prices.
Asking prices nationally fell by 3.3% in the first quarter of 2010, compared to a fall of 3.5% in the last quarter of 2009. The average asking price for a home is now €301,449 compared to €342,666 12 months ago and overall asking prices nationally have fallen by more than a quarter (27.3%) from their peak.
In Dublin, asking prices fell by 3.9% bringing the total fall over the last 12 months to 15.2%. Prices in the capital have now fallen by 33.4% since their peak in 2006. The average asking price for a house in Dublin now stands at €355,657.
New homes recorded the largest drop in asking prices in this quarter, declining by 4.4%. This was the largest decrease on any of the MyHome.ie property barometer indices and means the average price of a new home now stands at €271,437. The asking prices for second-hand homes fell by 3.2%, the smallest amount of any sector covered. The average asking price for a second-hand home is now €305,767 down from €422,990 or 27.7% since the peak of the market.
Asking prices in Limerick city remain the lowest of any urban area with the median price of a house in the city now standing at €240,000.
In Cork, the corresponding price is €289,500 while in Galway, it is €275,000. In the three-bedroom semi-detached market, the biggest falls were in Wexford and Westmeath, which both recorded falls of over 6% over the past three months.
Commenting on the results, independent economist Paul Murgatroyd said the 3.3% the rate of decrease in the first quarter of the year was significantly lower than the 6.13% recorded over the same period in 2009.
“Asking prices have continued to fall, as do actual sales, with plentiful anecdotal evidence showing peak to trough declines in sales prices in the order of 40% to 50%, depending on property type and location,” he said.
The survey also showed that three-quarters of first-time buyers are looking to purchase a second-hand property, while one in five is seeking a newly built home. Nearly half of first-time buyers have a preference for a semi-detached home while a further 10% prefer an apartment.