House prices in Clare drop by 36% since 2007 peak

Home owners in Clare have to wait as much as one year to sell their property a new report has revealed. Houses in the county and across Munster are taking on average a year or more to sell according to the Daft.ie House Price Report published this week.

Asking prices in Clare have fallen more than 36% since the peak in 2007 but this drop is much less than in other areas of the country. In Dublin city centre property prices fell by half.
The average house price in Clare is €195,436, a year-on-year fall of 12.8%. Asking prices according to Daft.ie are now approximately €78,000 for a one bedroom apartment in the county, €125,000 for a two-bedroom property, €159,000 for a three-bedroom unit, €252,000 for a four-bedroom home and €292,000 for a five bedroom house. These figures indicate that one-bed and three-bed properties in Clare have the lowest asking prices in Munster while two beds are only cheaper in Waterford.
These figures vary from those in the Property Barometer issued this week by property website, MyHome.ie. It states that the average asking price for a three-bed semi-detached house in Clare is now €175,000, while the average price of four bed semi now stands at €219,000. Nationally asking prices fell by 13% during 2010 bringing property prices back to 2002 levels the survey said.
In Clare the barometer shows the average price of a four bed semi detached house was €218,590 during the last quarter of 2010, down 0.27% from the previous quarter, and down 5.7% in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, the asking price for a three bed semi in the county was €175,000, down 7.9% from the last quarter, and down 18.6% from the previous 12 months.
The author of the report, Annette Hughes, director DKM Economic Consultants, said it is clear that consumer sentiment remains fragile heading into 2011. Confidence in the market remains weak as accessing credit remains difficult for some potential house buyers.
However Hughes also pointed out that with affordability now back to mid-1990 levels some of those who were priced out of the market during the boom years may be enticed back during 2011.
The survey shows that overall the prices for new homes fell by about the same as secondhand homes, 3.4% as against 3.2%. The average price of a new home now stands at €246,000 while that of a second hand home is €274,000.
In County Limerick, Limerick city recorded the biggest price fall compared to Cork and Galway, with a decline of 7%, bringing the median asking price in the city to €200,000. Overall asking prices fell by 17.5% during 2010.
Following the publication of the reports Respond! Housing Association repeated its call for the establishment of a national house price database.
According to the housing charity, the Government has failed to fulfil its commitment to introduce legislation to  provide reliable, accurate and timely information on a property market still in decline. Respond! argues that a national property database is long overdue and is now required as a matter of urgency.
Respond! spokesperson Aoife Walsh maintained the lack of transparency in the property market, including the lack of reliable sales prices, is dampening confidence and delaying recovery.
“Considering the importance of the property market to both the rise and subsequent fall of the Irish economy over the past decade, it seems absurd that we do not yet have accurate, up-to-date statistics in relation to residential and commercial property,” Ms Walsh said.
A national house price database was announced as part of the Renewed Programme for Government in October 2009. However, nearly 18 months later both buyers and sellers still cannot access real-time information on the Irish property market, compounding the uncertainty which exists in the market.