Property prices in Westmeath have stayed steady during the quarter, according to the latest MyHome.ie Property Price Report.
The report for Q3 2023, in association with Davy, shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is still €225,000. This means prices have risen by €15,050 compared with this time last year.
Asking prices for a three-bed semi-detached house in the county rose by €14,950 over the quarter to €224,950. This means that prices in the segment have risen by the same amount compared to this time last year.
Meanwhile, the asking price for a 4-bed semi-detached house in Westmeath stayed flat over the quarter at €259,950. This price is up by €2,475 compared to this time last year.
There were 219 properties for sale in Westmeath at the end of Q3 2023 – a marginal decrease of 1% over the quarter.
The average time for a property to go sale agreed in the county after being placed up for sale now stands at nearly three and a half months.
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“The period of falling house prices we saw earlier in the year has come to an end, with the underlying imbalance between demand and supply providing fresh impetus to the market,” the author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Davy, said.
He said that housing demand had remained resilient, despite interest rate hikes.
“That competition for homes is heating up is evident in the 3% premium over the asking price that buyers were prepared to pay in September, up from 1% at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, in July the average mortgage approval was €298,800, up 4% on the year, lending volumes up 18% on 2022,” Mr MacCoille added.
He said Ireland had avoided the house price declines seen in the UK and other countries for two reasons.
“First off, the Irish economy has performed far better with employment already 12% above pre-pandemic level, an extraordinary pace of job creation. Hence, housing demand has remained robust. Second, the Irish housing market has been less liquid than other countries, so less vulnerable to the unexpected rise in ECB rates,” he continued.
However, he noted that supply was still a major issue.
“The figures suggest any period of catch-up for housing activity following the Covid19 pandemic is now over. Worryingly, homebuyers may have to reconcile themselves to this tighter market,” Mr MacCoille remarked.
Mr MacCoille added that while we saw 28,900 housing starts in the year to July, we needed 40,000-50,000 units annually to address our pent-up demand.
He said that, while affordability was stretched and the impact of past ECB interest rate hikes had yet to be fully felt, the surprise loosening of the Central Bank mortgage lending rules earlier this year would add fuel to house prices over time.
“We expect modest, low single-digit price rises from here, close to the pace of pay growth, so affordability is stable or improves marginally. However, this quarter’s MyHome report highlights the risk that the lack of housing supply could drive more aggressive price gains over the next one to two years,” he concluded.
