Property prices in Westmeath have risen by €2,525 during the quarter, according to the latest MyHome.ie Property Report.
The report for Q2 2021 shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is now €185,000. Prices have fallen by €10,000 compared to this time last year.
Continuing with this trend, asking prices for a 3-bed semi-detached house rose by €4,950 over the quarter to €179,950. This means that prices in the segment have fallen by €50 compared to this time last year.
Meanwhile, the asking price for a 4-bed semi-detached house in Westmeath fell by €500 over the quarter to €199,475. This represents a decrease of €15,525 compared to Q2 2020.
The number of properties for sale in Westmeath on MyHome.ie rose by four percent in the last quarter.
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 report, in association with Davy, found that annual asking price inflation rose by 13 percent nationwide, by 10.6 percent in Dublin and by 13.6 percent elsewhere around the country.
Meanwhile, quarterly asking price inflation also rose significantly throughout Ireland – by 6.7 percent nationally, by four percent in Dublin, and by 7.4 percent elsewhere around the country.
The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Davy, said that housing market demand was now “red-hot”.
“The average time to sale agreed has fallen back to a record low of 3.8 months, indicating that whatever stock is available is being purchased ever more quickly. Once again transactions are now being settled above asking prices.
“Whilst demand has remained robust, reflecting that pandemic-related job losses have been concentrated amongst younger age-groups and lower paid workers, price gains primarily reflect the lack of housing supply.
“The news that asking price inflation has returned to double-digit levels will heap even more pressure on the Government to address the housing crisis. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to solve Ireland’s structurally high build costs and lack of construction sector capacity,” Mr MacCoille stated.
Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie, said that the fact that homebuyers were increasingly desperate to secure homes was not good for the market.
“Once again, we are seeing the results of the imbalance between sluggish supply and sky-rocketing demand in the property market. Even though we expect property price inflation to dip into single digits by the end of the year, this is a stark warning of the need for increased supply throughout the country,” Ms Keegan remarked.
