HOUSE prices in Clare surged throughout 2024, according to the latest Residential Property Price Barometer of IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers.
In Clare two-bedroom apartments increased by 9.97% in the latter 6 months of 2024, 3-bedroom semi-detached homes by 8.49% and 4-bedroom semis by 4.44%.
The first six months had seen increases of 6.77%, 5.16% and 6.09% respectively.
Pat Davitt, IPAV’s Chief Executive said current indications this year suggest property prices are still moving higher.
“If more stock does not come to market soon there is a real possibility that 2025 could repeat 2024’s experience,” he said.
Prices have been on the rise since autumn 2023 and he said that continuing increases of these levels are not sustainable in Clare or nationally.
“They do not augur well for locked-out generations on average, indeed above average, incomes,” he said.
We’re seeing very worrying pressures from a wider societal perspective, such as the difficulties for teachers in affording homes to buy or rent, in the Dublin region in particular.”
According to the CSO new dwelling completions last year were 30,330, down by 6.7% in 2023, despite the ongoing shortage.
“The ship that is housing has entered shallow waters and it desperately needs to be taken out of danger,” Mr Davitt said.
However he said that while time is of the essence, given the prolonged nature of the housing crisis, all may not be lost.
He welcomed the promise made by the new Government to radical change housing delivery so as to achieve a target of delivering 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030.
“It’s very difficult to see how this can happen unless the Government incentivises small builders back into the market to build homes as they did in the 1990 to 2007 period,” he said.
“While locally numbers were small they were spread nationally satisfying local markets.”
Mr Davitt said the promised new coordination and implementation group operating from the Taoiseach’s department would be critical.
“This would elevate housing policy and take it from the clutches and power accretive nature of a single Government department bringing the white heat of the Taoiseach’s department upon it where it would be far more accountable, with substantially less opportunity for obfuscation,” he said.
And he said that recent comments made by the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin (FF), saying that he is “prepared to look fundamentally at everything again”, including abolishing rent pressure zones (RPZs), does present some optimism that we might be entering a more positive period in housing.
“Let us hope the government gets to achieve its ambition before the current vibrant economic climate turns.”
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.