An analysis of recent trends in the Irish residential property market at the end of Q4 of 2019 by the property website, Daft.ie, has noted that property prices were two percent higher than in 2018, compared to a rise of nine percent detailed a year ago, with the average house price now at €204,000, 73 percent above its lowest point.
Pertaining to the sale of apartments in Westmeath, the average asking price for a one bedroom abode is €80,000, while a three bed semi-detached property is priced at €145,000.
The average cost of a four bedroom bungalow in the county stands at €284,000, while a five bedroom detached home would presently cost €301,000.
Between September and December of 2019, property prices fell in Westmeath, the first time that such a statistic has occurred since 2013.
Nationally, housing prices fell by 1.2 percent during 2019, the first calendar year recording a fall in prices since 2012, with the average price nationwide in the final quarter of the year being €250,766, 2.4 percent lower than in the third quarter and 1.2 percent lower than a year ago.
Reviewing the latest figures, and the performance of the housing market over the last decade, Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft.ie Report, noted the contrast in sales figures during this time.
“In the first and final quarters of the 2010s, sale prices were falling, but that is where the similarities end. Over the last ten years, the sales segment of Ireland’s housing market has transformed, albeit slowly.
“As it enters the 2020s, there appears to be relatively good balance between the pipeline of newly built owner-occupied housing and the number of households able to buy that housing, given constraints such as the mortgage rules. Where falling prices represent the ability of developers to build new homes for less, this fall is good for the country’s competitiveness.
“Nonetheless, just because the sales segment is by and large in balance does not mean that Ireland’s housing system is healthy. There remain huge issues with the other segments of the system, including private rental and social housing.
“In addition, a huge mismatch exists between the existing stock of housing, which is predominantly for households of three or more persons, and the country’s housing needs, with one and two person households not only the majority of households already but also accounting for the overwhelming majority of new households the country will add over coming decades. This is what policymakers need to focus on in the coming decade,” Ronan reflected.
