Abigail Hayden, 8 Jul
PROPERTY prices in Limerick have risen by €11,000 in Q2 of this year.
According to the latest MyHome.ie Property Price Report, the median
asking price for a property in the county is now €260,000, up €25,000
compared to Q2 in 2023.
Asking prices for a 3-bed semi-detached house in the county rose by
€3,500 over the quarter to €260,000. Meanwhile, the asking price for a
4-bed semi-detached house in Limerick stayed steady over the quarter at
€320,000.
The asking prices for a 3-bed semi-detached house and a 4-bed
semi-detached house are both up by €25,000 compared to this time last
year.
The average time for a property to go sale agreed after being placed up
for sale now stands at nearly two months in both county and city.
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Nationally, Conall MacCoille, chief economist at Bank of Ireland and
author of the report, says that the clear message from this report is
that “house prices have gained further momentum. Asking prices rose by
5% in Q2 2024, up 7.3% on the year, the highest figure since Q3 2022”.
One factor impacting prices is the sustained strength of the Irish
labour market, with a 4.7% rise in average earnings to €50,300 in the
year to Q1 2024. The average mortgage approval in April was €313,000,
up 4.6% on the year.
Another impacting factor is the low levels of property supply in the
market. “There were just 12,500 properties listed for sale at end-June,
still close to the historic low in Q1 2024 and down 11% on 2023,” Mr
MacCoille said.
In Limerick, however, there were 369 properties for sale at the end of
Q2 2024 – an increase of 15% over the quarter.
Joanne Geary, managing director of MyHome.ie, said: “The strength of
our labour market is of course a positive thing, but without an
adequate supply of properties to meet the demand generated by rising
incomes, it is inevitable that competition will remain intense. It will
take time for the growing rate of housing starts to have a real impact,
but it is promising to see this figure move in the right direction.”