Property prices in Wicklow have mirrored the national trend and risen by €15,000 during the quarter, according to the latest MyHome.ie Property Report.
The report for Q4 2021, in association with Davy, shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is now €365,000. This means prices have also risen by €30,000 compared with this time last year.
Asking prices for a 3-bed semi-detached house in the county also rose by €12,500 over the quarter to €372,500. This means that prices in the segment have risen by €42,500 compared to this time last year.
Meanwhile, the asking price for a 4-bed semi-detached house in Wicklow rose by €7,500 over the quarter to €482,500. This represents a year-on-year increase of €50,000 in the segment.
There were 436 properties for sale in Wicklow at the end of Q4 2021, a decrease of 13.6% on Q3.
The average time for a property to go sale agreed in the county after being placed up for sale now stands at four and a half months.
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The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Davy, said that the findings of the report painted a grim picture for prospective homebuyers. “The unwelcome message from this quarter’s MyHome report is that there is little sign of conditions easing. This quarter’s MyHome report shows annual asking price inflation accelerating to 9.7% in Q4 2021. Prices also rose by an uncharacteristically sharp 1.2% in Q4 during the normally quiet winter months. This reflects the market grinding tighter, with the stock of homes listed for sale having fallen to a fresh historic low of just 11,300. In addition, Ireland’s labour market is performing exceptionally well, adding to housing demand.
“The shortage of stock for sale or rental is most acute outside the capital, Dublin, and is also evident in a marked decline in the average time to sale agreed to just three months nationally.”
He said that the inflation forecast for 2021 and 2022 would likely now be beaten. “We had forecast an 11% rise in Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) inflation through 2021 and 4.5% in 2022. However, RPPI inflation rose by 13.5% in October and so the out-turn for last year is now likely to beat our forecast.”
He added: “Our analysis shows that house prices are now seven times’ average incomes. Even still, Central Bank of Ireland and Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) estimates suggest that the mortgage lending rules have stopped house prices rising by an additional 10-25% over and above existing levels.”
Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie, said: “It is promising to see construction activity has increased for seven months in a row to November, but the stark reality is that we will unfortunately be living with a dysfunctional property market for some time to come.”
She said that supply was far too low to accommodate soaring demand for housing. “We have never seen such a lack of stock on the MyHome.ie website and, given the significant increase in savings among prospective homebuyers, it is doubtful we will see much let-up in demand during 2022. We can only hope that restrictions are not reintroduced as the construction sector needs to be given every opportunity possible to continue to build properties.”
Full details of the report can be found at www.myhome.ie/reports
