The property boom seems to be on its way back in Athlone, with the number of properties sold in the last year double that of the previous year. According to the property price register at the end of August, the number of property sales for Athlone has shown a dramatic increase year on year.
Figures garnered from the register by www.advertiser.ie reveal that there has been a significant increase in the number of properties sold.
The register gives the exact selling price of properties and so is the most accurate record of actual sales that have taken place. Some property reports use asking prices as their source, others use prices at which properties were ‘for sale’; neither of these give accurate information which can be relied on.
As the property price register is only completed when sales are finalised, it could be argued that it lags real time selling prices by a few months. However, it is still the only definitive register for actual property sales.
In the past year, there has been a very significant increase of almost 100 per cent in the number of properties sold in the January to July period in Athlone, from 68 properties in 2013 to over 130 properties in 2014.
This has continued a trend apparent over the last number of years, where the number of properties sold has increased considerably year on year.
Just over €11.5m worth of property sales took place in the January to July 2014 period compared to just under €7m for the same period in 2013.
When it comes to the actual change in prices, the situation is very dependent on location, and the sale of a small number of properties can distort the average sales figures for a particular area.
For example, the price register shows an actual fall in the average price of a property in Athlone when comparing January to July 2014 versus the same period in 2013. However, on closer examination it is clear that prices are rising in most parts of the town, and the average figures for 2013 are inflated by some particularly high value sales.
Take, for example, the three most expensive properties sold in Athlone in the January to July 2013 period, at Portaneena, Athlone; Wineport, Glasson; and Benown, Glasson; which sold for €400k, €400k, and €450k respectively. The sales of these properties increased the average price of a property sold in Athlone in this period by almost €15k. The average price of a property sold in Athlone in this period was just over €102k, for the 68 properties sold. If these three properties had not been sold, the average in the period would be just under €88k.
The average price of a property in Athlone for January to July 2014 was €89k for the over 130 properties sold.
Of these properties, 100 sold for €125k or less.
For all of County Westmeath, there was also a significant increase in the number of property sales for 2014 versus 2013. There was a 60 per cent increase in the number of properties sold, from 256 in the January to July 2013 period to well over 400 for the same period in 2014.
Of course, the price of individual properties depend on a large number of factors, and the figures can only give an estimate of what you can expect to pay in certain areas.
The analysis of property prices by Advertiser.ie is based on the Residential Property Price Register produced by the Property Services Regulatory Authority.
It contains details on the sale of all residential properties in Athlone.
The register provides information on the price, and address of all properties purchased during the period as declared to the Revenue Commissioners .
In the case of new properties, the prices on the register are shown exclusive of VAT at 13.5 per cent.
The register does not contain information on specific details of sold properties which would allow for true like-for-like comparisons such as house size, site size, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, condition of house, if work is required, etc.
