Modest rise in property prices in Cavan - two reports show

The price of the average three-bed semi in County Cavan rose by two per cent in the past year according and now stands at to €127,500, with prices in the east of the county driving the averages up.

That's according to a national survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.

Despite fears of a downturn in the market during the COVID-19 crisis, the price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the county remained unchanged over the past three months.

“Since our reopening on June 8, it has been incredibly busy, with pent-up demand from purchasers, and we have very good expectations for the rest of the year,” said James Spring of REA Peter Donohoe, Ballyconnell.

“We also expect to see an increase in people moving into the countryside, based on recent enquiries, and a number of investors are looking for deals,” he added.

In Cavan Town, the price of an average three-bed semi remained unchanged at €150,000 over the past 12 months, with time taken to sell remaining unchanged this quarter at eight weeks.

Prices in Ballyconnell are up five per cent to €105,000 in the last year; while time to sell dropped from eight weeks to seven this quarter.

The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland's typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an accurate picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.

Across the country, despite fears of a downturn in the market due to lockdown, the price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house fell by just -0.15% over the past three months to €234,667, an annual decline of -0.56%.

“Although sales slowed during the lockdown, they did happen and, despite fears, very few fell through or had to be renegotiated,” said REA spokesperson Barry McDonald.

“Changes in the world of work are having an immediate effect on the second-hand housing market with a nationwide trend emerging of buyers looking to move 15 minutes outside of their urban location where they can get more space for the same money.

“We are finding that people are looking for three things – more space, gardens and a guarantee of better broadband, where transport was previously the highest priority.

“While the current outlook is positive, and there seems to be a lot of pent-up demand, it may be Q3 before we see the effect of COVID-19 on the market and on the outcome of mortgage approvals granted before the lockdown.”

Property prices up €5,000 per unit

Meanwhile, another report has shown property prices in Cavan have risen by €5,000. That's according to the latest MyHome.ie Property Report in association with Davy.

The report for the second quarter of 2020 shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is now €160,000. This represents an increase of €1,000 compared with prices during the same period in 2019, when the figure stood at €159,000.

Continuing with this trend, asking prices for a three-bed semi-detached house in the county rose by €7,000 in the quarter to €147,000. Prices for this house type are up by €2,000 compared to this time last year.

Meanwhile, the asking price for a four-bed semi-detached house in Cavan stayed flat over the quarter at €165,000. This means prices in the segment were up €5,000 compared to this time last year, when they stood at €160,000.

The number of properties for sale in Cavan on MyHome.ie fell by 10% in the last quarter and was down 24% on this time last year.

The average time for a sale to be agreed on a property in the county now stands at nearly 12 months.

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The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Davy, said that the negative asking price inflation seen throughout the country had to be viewed in the context of far fewer listings in Q2 compared to a year ago. “Our price measure is based on just 3,700 new properties listed for sale over the past three months, down 64% from 10,200 one year ago. Observed prices were therefore clearly biased towards those vendors willing to put their homes on the market despite the enormous uncertainty of the COVID-19 outbreak.”

He added that, despite a highly uncertain outlook for the property market, there was cause for some optimism. “The negative impact of COVID-19 could still have a more slow burn impact on the Irish housing market than many participants anticipate. That said, the clear anecdotal evidence is that activity in the housing market is returning to normal levels and with greater confidence than estate agents had expected.”

Angela Keegan, MD of MyHome.ie, said the significant drop-off in activity in Q2 meant that a clearer picture of the effect of Coronavirus would not be seen until the third quarter. “With activity significantly down on normal levels for most of the quarter, it is perhaps not hugely surprising that we have seen prices stay relatively steady as many buyers adopt a wait and see approach. In Q3 we will have a better sense of how the overall economic picture has affected the housing market across the country.”