Property prices in Westmeath have remained unchanged for Q1, according to the latest MyHome.ie Property Report in association with Davy.
The report for Q1 2020 shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is still €195,000. This represents an increase of €15,000 compared to this time last year.
Continuing this trend, asking prices for a 3-bed semi-detached house in the county stayed steady at €180,000. Prices for this house type have increased by €5,000 compared to Q1 last year.
Meanwhile, the asking price for a 4-bed semi-detached house in Westmeath increased during the quarter by €50 to €215,000. This figure is flat compared with this time last year.
The number of properties for sale in Westmeath on MyHome.ie fell by 6.5% in the last quarter and was down 13.2% on this time last year.
The average time for a property to go sale agreed in the county after being placed up for sale now stands at just over six months.
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The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Davy, said that indicators of activity suggested the housing market had recorded a decent start to the year.
“After activity was depressed by Brexit in 2019, residential property transactions in January were up six percent year-on-year, while agreed sales and mortgage approvals in Q1 were both up 10 percent annually. Similarly, housing completions rose to 21,124 in 2019, up 18 percent on the previous year.
However, he noted that Covid-19 and the measures needed to fight it would likely kill off any green shoots we have seen so far this year.
“For now, the immediate outlook is an illiquid market with depressed pricing among the very few transactions that do take place. In this context, our forecast for two percent Residential Property Price Index (RPPI ) inflation through 2020 now looks optimistic.”
Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie, said that despite the huge uncertainty caused by Covid-19, there were positives to take.
“MyHome.ie analysis of the Chinese property market – the first country to be affected by Covid-19 – shows that after an initial hard shock, it has bounced back relatively rapidly. Technological advances also mean that online viewings are now being utilised en masse and have become hugely important for agents, sellers and buyers – perhaps signalling a future trend.”
