Property prices in Mayo have remained unchanged for the third consecutive quarter, according to the latest MyHome.ie Property Report in association with Davy.
The report for Q4 2019 shows that the median asking price for a property in the county has remained steady at €160,000 compared to quarter three. This is an increase of €5,000 compared to this time last year.
The asking prices for a three-bed semi-detached house in the county also stayed steady compared to quarter three at €145,000. However, prices for this house type are up €5,000 from this time last year.
Meanwhile, the asking price for a four-bed semi-detached house in Mayo increased slightly by €1,000 in the quarter to €149,000 from €150,000 in quarter three. This figure is equal to that recorded this time last year.
The number of properties for sale in Mayo on MyHome.ie decreased by 10 per cent in the last quarter and is also down by 5 per cent compared to 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 seven months.
The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Davy, said that the slowdown in house price inflation was to be welcomed and was inevitable given stretched affordability, he said: " Central Bank rules have stopped first-time buyers taking out too much mortgage debt and should lead to more realistic asking prices. Our analysis shows that the average residential transaction in Ireland (€292,000 ) is now 6.8x the average income of €43,000. This is only slightly below the UK’s ratio of 7x. This is the first time since 2012 that Ireland’s house-price-to-income ratio has declined.
"While there has been a 13 per cent fall in new instructions to sell and an 11% drop in the total number of homes listed for sale, there are positives in the market. Mortgage lending to first-time buyers is up 15 per cent in the first three quarters and transaction volumes in the €300,000-€400,000 price range are up seven per cent in the capital.
"It is also encouraging to see homebuilding completions rose above 20,000 for the first time in the 12 months to September, and housing starts went above 26,000."
