Signs of life as houses sell above guide prices
The first tangible signs of the Irish property market coming back to life are emerging as a spate of houses have sold well above their initial guide prices in recent days.
While still well below the peak levels of 2006 and 2007, the declaration by international ratings agency Standard and Poor's appears that the Irish property market is now undervalued appears to be holding true.
Last week, two houses in the greater Dublin area sold at auction for more than €900,000 each and well above their guide prices -- one of them made just short of €1m.
In the much sought-after Burnaby area of Greystones, Co Wicklow, a four-bedroom bungalow, known as Sunnyside, sold for €910,000 -- 40 per cent above its advised minimum value of €650,000.
The property also benefited from a-third-of-an acre site. In south Dublin, a four bedroom semi-detached house in Glenvar Park, Blackrock, sold for €975,000 -- 8.3 per cent above its €900,000 guide price.
Meanwhile, a north Dublin farmer last Tuesday paid €1.26m, or an average of €18,529-per-acre, for a non-residential, 68-acre tillage farm at Broomfield, Ballyboughal, Co Dublin.
The agents, Coonan Real Estate Alliance, offered the farm for sale in three lots initially and nine bidders competed for them.
Last week, the Standard and Poor's report said Ireland's property market could be undervalued, with the steady fall in house prices caused by oversupply in the market.
However, the report from ratings agency Standard and Poor's did not rule out further declines in prices.
In the report on the European housing market published, S&P said Ireland's ongoing market correction "seems overdone", and estimated prices were undervalued by about 12 per cent.
The agency said Irish house prices, which recorded an 18.5 per cent decline in 2009, were showing a marked difference to other European markets, which have displayed signs of pulling out of the recent price correction.
"Fundamentals driving the Irish market have nevertheless improved dramatically. The market appears undervalued today compared with long-term historical averages," the report added.
- DANIEL McCONNELL Chief Reporter
Originally published in
