Further drop in house prices

HOUSE prices in Clare fell again during the last quarter, according to two reports released this week.
According to property website MyHome.ie, the price of three-bed semi-detached houses fell by 5% to €139,000, while the price of a four-bed in the county dropped by 3.25% to €150,000.

Daft.ie reported that the average house price in Clare was €144,524 during the third quarter of the year, a decrease of 4.8% on the last quarter and slightly less than 20% in the past year. It noted that the average asking price for a one or two-bed apartment in the county was €83,000.

 

For a three-bed home, asking prices were €124,000 on average in the last quarter. The average asking price for four-bedroom homes in the county was €191,000 and five beds were on sale with asking prices in the region of €223,000. Asking prices in Clare are now down more than 52% since the peak.

Prices throughout Munster, outside of cities, fell sharply by between 5% and 7% in most places, according to the Daft.ie report, the fastest rate of decline seen yet in the province. This report also notes that the total number of properties for sale in the province has fallen by 1,600 in the last year but remains at very high levels.

The figures in both reports represent the asking prices or the amount of money vendors aspire to, rather than the amount paid.

The new Property Price Register launched this week shows the actual selling prices of properties across the country since January 2010. In Clare, actual prices paid, according to the register, varied between €6,000 and over €1.89 million approximately over that period.

However, it appears that the figure of €1.89 million may be incorrect as in 2010 between €210,000 and €250,000 was paid for four other properties in the same estate. While the register does not give details of the size or type of dwelling, it details the date of sale, price and address of property.

When contacted in relation to possible discrepancies, the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA), which is responsible for the Property Price Register, stated that the figures it publishes come directly from the Revenue Commissioners, based on what is declared to it for stamp duty purposes.

“The information in the register is that which is filed for stamp duty purposes with the Revenue Commissioners by those doing the conveyancing of the property. At present, nearly 100% of the data is filed online directly by the purchaser’s solicitor. Any errors in the data are errors made by those filing the data.

“The PSRA does not in any way edit the data. It simply publishes, in a fully transparent manner, that which is filed. The authority acknowledges that there are errors in the data. Where errors are discovered or reported to the authority, they will be taken up with the Revenue Commissioners.”