3 October 2022
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
The latest MyHome.ie Property Report shows annual asking price inflation of 7.8% nationally – and below is a breakdown of the Cork numbers
The latest MyHome.ie Property Report for Q3 2022, in association with Davy, shows that the median asking price for a property in County Cork is now €275,000. This means prices have risen by €23,000 compared with this time last year.
Asking prices for a 3-bed semi-detached house in the county rose by €13,500 over the quarter to €278,500. This means that prices in the segment have risen by €23,500 compared to this time last year.
Meanwhile, the asking price for a 4-bed semi-detached house in Cork rose by €24,000 over the quarter to €349,000. This price is up by €39,000 compared to this time last year.
There were 1,830 properties for sale in Cork at the end of Q3 2022 – an increase of 30% over the quarter.
The average time for a property to go sale agreed in the county after being placed up for sale now stands at just over three months. Meanwhile, in Cork City, it is just over two and a half months.
National picture
The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Davy, said that the latest figures did not necessarily mean we would see persistent price falls. “Asking prices are typically weak as the busy summer trading season peters out and fell in both Q3 2018 and Q3 2019. After the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, the usual seasonal pattern has re-emerged.”
He said that there was mixed news on supply. “On one hand, new listings for sale are strong, suggesting the market is merely making up for lost time following delayed transactional activity in 2020 and 2021. However, it is most unwelcome to see construction activity curtailed by supply chain issues and rising input costs.”
He said rising interest rates will lead to slower price growth, but that pent-up demand in the market remained strong. “In July, the average mortgage approval was €288,300 – up 8% on the year. In the year to June, 16% of mortgage approvals failed to translate into a drawdown, indicative of frustrated buyers. Similarly, the 30,000 applications to avail of the Help-to-Buy scheme over the past 12 months are well in excess of claims of just 7,400. Plus, more than 1,000 applications have been lodged for the government’s First Home Scheme since it opened in July.”
He said that price growth would continue, albeit at a slower rate. “Looking forward, we expect that Irish house asking prices will grow by 6% through 2022 and by 3% in 2023. There are of course many risks to this view. Ireland potentially faces an energy crisis this winter amid fears of a full-blown European recession brought on by events in Ukraine and surging natural gas prices.”
Joanne Geary, Managing Director of MyHome.ie, said: “It appears that a number of factors have eased the runaway asking price inflation we were seeing earlier this year. This is in line with our predictions throughout the year and it is important to note that this represents a much-needed correction in the market.”
She noted that rising stock levels were a cause for optimism. “One promising sign for would-be homebuyers this quarter is increasing supply, albeit from a low base. New listings on MyHome.ie are up 33% year on year, while there has been a 25% increase in the amount of properties featured on the website since last year. This supply is badly needed, as demand is still particularly strong. On MyHome.ie, leads are up by 27% and brochure views are up 15% compared to this time last year.”
In addition, she noted that Budget 2023 could have done more for the rental market. “The supports announced for renters are welcome, but these should have been accompanied by significant supports for small landlords to encourage them to stay in the market. The failure to adequately address the predominant issue of lack of supply by supporting small landlords to stay in the market is a missed opportunity.”
Median prices
The median price is the ‘middle price’. It can be thought of as the price of the house which is more expensive than exactly half of the other houses. The authors of the report find that it is superior to the average in estimating the price of a typical house and that is why they use it in their county by county analysis of 3 and 4 bed semi-detached properties.
