Property prices in Westmeath have remained unchanged during quarter three of the calendar year, according to the latest MyHome.ie Property Report in association with Davy.
The report for Q3 2020 shows that the median asking price for a property in the county has stayed steady at €195,000. This means prices are down by €4,950 compared to this time last year.
Despite this trend, asking prices for a three-bed semi-detached house in the county fell by €50 to €179,950. Prices for this house type are also down by €50 compared to this time last year.
Meanwhile, the asking price for a four-bed semi-detached house in Westmeath stayed steady over the quarter at €215,000. This means prices in the segment were down €5,000 compared to this time last year, when they stood at €220,000.
The number of properties for sale in Westmeath on MyHome.ie rose by 12 percent in the last quarter and was down 25.5 percent 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 nearly four and a half months.
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The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Davy, said that despite the significant increase, we were not likely to be facing another property bubble.
“The news that asking price inflation bounced back to 5% in Q3 2020 could at face value be taken as a sign of a fresh bubble emerging in the Irish housing market. However, we would caution that COVID-19 has disrupted the usual seasonal pattern of the housing market and may have flattered the annual comparison.
“Just as we thought the minus three percent inflation reading in Q2 2020 was an aberration, the same is likely true for the five percent recorded here. The truth probably lies close to the middle of these two readings. The third quarter is normally a weak one for pricing, capturing the end of the summer selling season which has been delayed this year. Hence, asking price inflation will likely fall back in Q4,” Mr MacCoille said.
Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie , said that strong demand and weak supply caused by the suspension of construction at the height of the lockdown were driving the inflation rate.
“MyHome.ie recorded its busiest ever month for website traffic in July, while our latest consumer sentiment survey conducted in August showed that 71 percent of prospective buyers expected to buy in the next year.
“This shows that buyers appear to have largely been unaffected by CoOVID-19’s economic impact. On the supply side, meanwhile, stock levels are down 25 percent compared with this time last year. This combination has led to asking prices being driven upwards,” Ms Keegan stated.
