The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
IN the second half of last year the prices of three-bedroom semi-detached houses rocketed in Clare, increasing by a greater percentage than any other part of the country.
That’s according to the latest residential property price research from the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers.
In a report issued this week they stated, “In the three-bedroom semi segments of the market, Clare scored the strongest growth rising 13.53% to an average of €206,250.”
According to its findings the average cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Clare is €120,750, while for a three-bedroom semi-detached house it is €206,250 and for a four-bedroom semi it is €260,000.
Writing in the report, Pat Davitt IPAV Chief Executive, stated that house prices are close to where they were at the end of the Celtic Tiger years.
“Our barometer tracks house prices achieved by auctioneers, as opposed to asking prices. During 2021 in particular that differential was crucial given the intense demand against a scarcity of supply, leading to a trend whereby agreed prices exceeded asking prices, sometimes to a considerable degree.
“We are now very close to 2006/7 levels of house prices. However, we are in a very different market. At that time there was no shortage of supply, we were building 93,000 units per year.”
“There was excessive lending with banks often approving several prospective buyers for the same property. They ended up competing against each other, thereby pushing up prices.
“We now have a shortage of supply and very tight lending rules, with the Central Bank of Ireland’s macroprudential mortgage rules.
“Many properties are being purchased from savings and parents are contributing hugely to deposits for young buyers.”
The barometer found that the growth in prices had been far more sluggish in Dublin than in many rural counties.
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
