Property prices surge 12pc in south Dublin as homes outside capital fall

Ronan Lyons: says there is a lack of supply in capital

Peter Flanagan

July 01 2013 04:03 AM

HOUSE prices in south Dublin are now rising at rates not seen since the height of the boom, even as prices around the rest of the country keep falling.

A new report from property website Daft.ie found property prices in the capital have risen 5.3pc in the past year, but in south Co Dublin prices have exploded, and are now up more than 12pc in the first six months of the year.

That is the fastest rate of increase since the first three months of 2007, just before the property market turned.

Outside of Dublin, however, it is a much different story. Prices are 9pc lower than they were this time last year, but the rate of decline has slowed sharply. In 2012, prices were falling by an average of 15pc.

Overall, houses across the country are nearly 55pc cheaper than they were at their peak. The average property price is €193,000.

Despite prices continuing to fall, the supply of properties for sale is now at its lowest level since the middle of 2007.

As with prices, however, the supply is skewed by the Dublin market.

At current rates it would take 27 months to sell all those properties around Ireland, but in Dublin it would only take seven months.

Daft's economist Ronan Lyons said the market was now in the midst of a "great divergence" as the Dublin market surged ahead of the rest of the country.

"This is certainly the first time such rapid growth in asking prices has been recorded anywhere in the country for almost six years," he said.

"The underlying cause is a lack of supply in the capital, while demand has steadily been rising.

"The number of transactions in Dublin in the six months to March was 4,300, according to the Property Price Register.

DECLINE

"This compares to 3,000 for the same period to March 2012 and 2,500 in the six months to March 2011."

The Daft report came as a report from MyHome.ie showed similar growth in the market.

According to MyHome, asking prices in Dublin have risen for the first time since 2007.

The report claims asking prices for houses in Dublin have grown by 1pc compared to the same time in 2012.

Nationwide, however, asking prices have fallen 8.6pc in the past 12 months.

Caroline Kelleher, of DKM Economic Consultants, who compiled the report, said the figures implied the market may be about to turn sharply.

"As well as showing modest annual growth in Dublin, these figures indicate key markets such as Cork are likely to follow suit in the near future," she said.

"While nationally prices are continuing to fall, the rate of decline continues to moderate," she said.

"These signs are encouraging but further improvements in the economy and employment will be needed to sustain this and to see it spread to markets outside the capital."