Dublin house prices are showing the first signs of stabilisation, according to advisory firm Sherry Fitzgerald, based in the city.
Prices rose by 0.1% in the second quarter of 2012, compared with a 6.2% drop during the same period last year,
Prices are now at roughly the same levels achieved in the first quarter of 2000, before the housing boom, according to Sherry Fitzgerald’s index. However, the recovery is still confined to Dublin, with house prices nationally falling by 1.4% during Q2 2012, and by 3.1% in Cork, Ireland’s second-largest city.
First-time buyers were active players in the national housing market, accounting for 29% of Sherry Fitzgerald’s transactions for the quarter.
Sherry Fitzgerald’s chief economist, Marian Finnegan, said: “The second quarter of 2012 has proven to be something of a turning point in the residential market. Prices in Dublin rose moderately during the quarter, albeit by only 0.1%. This was notable because it was the first price increase since values began falling in the final quarter of 2006. It is also worth observing that the pace of price deflation outside Dublin has also moderated during the year to date.
“The trend towards cash buyers which emerged in the latter months of 2011 has continued throughout the opening six months of the year. In total, cash purchasers were responsible for 40% of all sales agreed in the first six months of the year in Dublin. There are positives and negatives in this. It is a positive endorsement of the market, however one would have greater confidence in the long-term stability of the market if there was a notable uplift in mortgage activity.”
Sophia.furber@estatesgazette.com
