Safe as houses - say reports but supply remains an issue

House prices in Cavan during the final three months of 2024 were six per cent higher than a year previously. The average price of a home in the Breffni county is now €219,000, 40% above the level seen at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. That’s according to the latest Daft.ie House Price Report published last week.

Nationally, prices rose by an average of nine per cent last year with typical listed price at €332,109, 1.4% higher than in the third quarter of the year and 30% higher than at the onset of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the asking price for a four-bed semi-detached house in County Cavan was steady over the quarter at €225,000. This price is up by €12,500 compared to this time last year.

There were 217 properties for sale in Cavan at the end of Q4 2024 - a decrease of 10% over the quarter.

Commenting on the report, its author Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin, said: “2024 saw the largest increase in listed prices since 2017. And, unlike earlier in the 2020s, Dublin is now driving price growth, with its rate of inflation ahead of the other cities. This is, once again, a story of weak supply and strong demand. With incomes and employment growing, demand for owner-occupied housing is likely growing at close to five per cent per year.

"But while the number of newly-built homes being transacted is increasing, it is growing much more slowly than demand. Further, the increase in new builds has, in recent quarters, been more than offset by a decline in the volume of second-hand homes coming on to the market... The new government may look to intervene in the mortgage market, to improve mobility of those with fixed interest rates. But ultimately, the solution remains boosting the volume of homes being built.”

Elsewhere, the latest MyHome Property Price Report indicates that property prices rose by €5,000 during the final quarter of 2024 in County Cavan. The median asking price for a property locally was €225,000 at the end of the year meaning prices have risen by €26,000 compared with this time last year.

Asking prices for a three-bed semi-detached house in the county rose by €5,500 over the quarter to €192,500. This means that prices in the segment have risen by €17,500 compared to this time last year.

The average time for a property to go sale agreed in the county after being placed up for sale now stands at nearly two and a half months.

Commenting on the latest reports, Donal Keenan from Keenan Auctioneers, says the situation on the ground in County Cavan is reflective of the national picture with supply a major issue.

“This is being echoed on the ground from both the seller and buyer point of view and, on a line graph, prices are heading up and to the right, and continue to do so,” he said.

“That same graph for supply, at this moment in time, is going down and to the right,” continued the auctioneer.

Mr Keenan also points out that on an “anecdotal level”, the situation here in Cavan almost mimics what the Myhome.ie report is saying.

“Prices were nine per cent higher at the end of 2024 than for the same period in 2023. That is playing out and uniquely enough you don’t always have two semi-detached houses together to compare prices on but I do.

“In one estate here in Kingscourt one three-bed semi with a good enough energy rating sold at €290K in December 2023 and the house attached to it came on the market in December 2024 and went sale agreed just before Christmas saw it going for €320K. So when you do the maths there - the difference is in and around 9-10%.”

Myhome.ie runs with a median price; while Daft.ie goes with an average but certainly locally, Mr Keenan finds, three bed semis are up around the €270,000 mark generally and more for top quality units.

The local auctioneer is keen to highlight that the stats in both are being reflected across the county. “Certainly locally three bed semis are up around the €270K mark generally and the good ones… €320K is where it’s now at. The all important B3 energy rating and above really has an impact because a lot of people are looking for that. At the moment, it’s great news for sellers but tough news for buyers.”

The auctioneer feels it going to take some time for supply to build up in the local market. “We are hearing that 40,000 new builds will come on stream nationally over the next year, which is very positive; if you look at the likes of Navan for example, there is a lot of development going on,” he surmised.

Nationally, the average time for a property to go sale agreed now stands at nearly two and a half months. Commentators say that demand is still “fierce” and is being impacted by rising mortgage approval values, and the first-time buyer market is particularly hot.