Mayo house prices down by 17 percent on last year

Mayo house prices down by 17 percent on last year


Anton McNulty
antonmcnulty@mayonews.ie

The difference between the cost of a four-bedroom detached house in Mayo and south Dublin is now more than it was during the height of the Celtic Tiger boom.
A survey of house asking prices by Daft.ie has shown that the gap in house prices between Dublin and the west of Ireland continues to grow. The survey found that during the height of the boom in 2007, a four-bedroom detached home in South County Dublin was 3.2 times the price of the equivalent property in Mayo. That ratio fell to 2.6 by early 2012, but in the last year the gap has risen rapidly to 3.5.
In Mayo, the average house price is now €126,000, which is 52 percent below the peak levels and prices in early 2013 were 17 percent lower than a year previously. This is compared to a fall of 15 percent seen in the year to March 2012.
The survey showed that there was a slow-down in house price falls, but there were huge differences in the national average around the country.
In South County Dublin, asking prices are now 6 percent higher than a year ago, a rate of change not seen since early 2007. However, in Connacht-Ulster, asking prices are 15 percent lower now than a year ago.
Commenting on the figures, economist with Daft.ie, Ronan Lyons said people were looking to live close to their place of employment and were not content with long commutes.
“The latest figures show that the gap between prices in Dublin and those elsewhere is growing and growing quite rapidly. A year ago, a four-bedroom detached home in South County Dublin was 2.6 times the price of the same property in Mayo but that ratio has since risen to 3.5, well above levels seen at the bubble.
“On its own, the growing differential between Dublin and elsewhere signifies that first-time buyers are no longer prepared to sprawl and pay the costs of long commutes. But with prices actually rising again and only in certain parts of the country, this has even greater implications for the Government, as it suggests that there are not enough properties in areas close to jobs and other amenities that first-time buyers are looking for,” he said.
The increase in house prices in Dublin were not seen in other cities where prices are down by between 9.8 percent in Cork and 14.6 percent in Waterford. In Galway, asking prices are down by 10.7 percent, while in Limerick they are down by 12.9 percent.

Construction up
Meanwhile, the latest National Housing Construction Index compiled and issued by Link2Plans illustrates shows a significant rise in housing construction activity across Mayo. The index measures every submitted planning application and planning commencement across Ireland from January to February 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.
The research found that the number of project commencements in Mayo rose by 60 percent compared to the same period in 2012, with 24 project commencements under way. Four other counties altogether showed an increase – Dublin (17 percent) Monaghan (20 percent), Wicklow (6 percent) and Roscommon (78 percent). Other counties significantly fell below the national average: Westmeath (-79 percent), Waterford (-55 percent) and Cavan (-52 percent).
Despite this positive news, Mayo planning applications have fallen by 15 percent. Nationally planning applications are down by 3 percent and commencement notices have fallen by 14 percent.

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