Carlow House Price Report Jan 2020

The price of the average three-bed semi in Carlow is expected to rise by 3% in the next 12 months, according to a survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.

Prices in the county were static at €171,000 in 2019 – with an increase of time to sell from eight weeks to nine between September and December.

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

"We are seeing an emerging trend in the number of people looking to buy offices with upstairs accommodation with the intention of converting them to living accommodation throughout," said Harry Sothern of REA Sothern in Carlow Town.

“We have seen that the market is noticeably quieter this year, and with no new stock set for construction in the area, we don’t envisage much change,” said John Dawson of REA Dawson in Tullow.

Average house prices nationally fell annually for the first time since the economic recovery, the Q4 REA Average House Price Index found.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country fell by -0.6% over the past year after a 4.6% annual rise in 2018.

The average family home nationally now costs €234,704, the survey found – a drop of -0.1% on the Q3 figure of €235,009.

However, drops across the country are far lower than the preceding quarter (-0.4%), indicating that some confidence returned to the market in the final 13 weeks of the year, with the prospect of a resolution to Brexit uncertainty.

Three-bed semi-detached houses in Dublin city registered a fourth consecutive quarter fall (-0.6%) since the end of September and have decreased by -4.3% compared to December 2018.

The price of the average three-bed semi-detached house in the capital’s postcode districts now stands at €425,833 – down €20,000 from €445,167 a year ago.

The absence of small investors due to Brexit uncertainty and a lack of incentives has also removed stimulus from the resales market and added to supply in many cases as landlords leave the market nationwide.

Prices fell slightly by -0.05% in the commuter counties in the past three months, with the average house now selling for €246,500 – an annual fall of 1%.

Prices in the country’s major cities outside Dublin – Cork, Galway, Waterford – remained largely unchanged

The highest annual price increases (2.8%) were once again seen in the rest of the country’s towns which rose in selling price by an average of almost €5,000 in the past year and 0.3% in the past three months to €162,207.