The price of the average three-bed semi in County Roscommon is expected to rise by 5% in the next 12 months, according to a survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance (REA).
Prices in the county rose by 13.2% to €141,500 in 2018 – with a rise of 2.9% between September and December. The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland’s typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an up-to-date picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.
“The last quarter of 2018 was quite good despite the Brexit effect,” said Seamus Carthy of REA Seamus Carthy.
“December has been strong for the last three years, and with people moving during the last few weeks of the quarter, last year was no exception. As the year ended strongly, we expect the first quarter of 2019 to be active.
“Roscommon Town is performing quite well and the end of 2018 was strong. The upper end of the market has performed very well. There is a lack of supply and new developments are required”.
The average semi-detached house nationally now costs €236,287, the Q4 REA Average House Price Survey has found – a rise of 0.6% on the Q3 2018 figure of €234,284.
Overall, the average house price across the country rose by 4.6% in 2018 – a decrease on the 5.4% recorded to September and indicating that the market is continuing to steady after an 11.3% overall rise in 2017.
Growth in the commuter counties also slowed to 0.38% in the last three months – an annual rise of 4.18% – with the average house now selling for €249,472. This is an annual rise of €10,000 and growth of €2,000 in the last three months.
The country’s major cities outside Dublin recorded the biggest rise of the quarter at 1.25%, an annual increase of 5.81%, with an average three-bed semi costing €252,500. The biggest urban rise was seen in Galway City, where selling prices rose by 2.7% in the quarter to €282,500 – a yearly increase of 9.7%.
The highest annual increases (7.7%) were once again seen in the rest of the country’s towns which rose in selling price by an average of €10,000 in 2018 and which experienced a 0.85% rise in Q4 to an average of €157,717.
“In these areas, you largely have the perfect storm of affordability within the 10% deposit range, and no new homes as it is still uneconomical to build in many places,” said REA Spokesperson Barry McDonald.
