Waterford House Price Survey Jan 2021

The price of the average three-bed semi in County Waterford is expected to rise by 5% in the next 12 months, according to a survey by Real Estate Alliance.

Prices in the county increased by 1.4% between September and December, the Q4 REA Average House Price Index shows.

Three-bed semi-detached homes in the county now cost an average of €182,500, up 2.5% on the December 2019 average of €178,000.

In the city, the same type of home rose by 7%, increasing in price from €215,000 to €230,000 in the last quarter of 2020.

And as supply struggles to keep pace with demand, city homes are selling four weeks quicker, taking 12 weeks to sell in September but falling to eight weeks at the end of 2020.

Strong demand, particularly from first-time buyers, and a shortage of supply is driving prices upwards, in addition to people moving out of Dublin.

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.

Agents now expect price rises of 5% in three-bed semis across Waterford county in 2021 – and a 2% rise in the city – down on the 7% experienced in 2020.

“The sale of second-hand houses has not been affected despite Covid-19,” said Des O’Shea of REA O’Shea O’Toole in Waterford City.

“The property market is difficult to predict in 2021 because of Covid-19/Brexit uncertainty. If demand stays the same, prices will continue to rise.

“A lot will depend on availability of funding from banks.”

In Dungarvan, prices rose by €4,500 in the 12 months from December 2019, from €178,000 to €182,500, up 2.5%, with time taken to sell falling from 12 weeks to nine between Q1 and Q4 last year.

Overall, the market in the final three months of 2020 was buoyant, fuelled by rising demand for detached four-bedroomed homes and properties with a sea view or a coastal setting realised good prices.

Eamonn Spratt of REA Spratt, Dungarvan, said agents expect selling prices to rise further. “However, we potentially see rental returns diminishing by reason of the impact of new homes, both private and affordable, being delivered to the market with the buyers moving out from rental accommodation, freeing up more rental stock,” he said.

Nationally, average house prices rose by almost 1.5% over the past three months in a market fuelled by a combination of record mortgage approvals and an unprecedented lack of supply.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country rose by more than €3,000 over the past three months to €239,194 – an annual increase of 1.9%.

The biggest rises in Q4 came in Ireland’s secondary cities and the commuter counties – both of whom had experienced the least movement in prices over the preceding 18 months.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house in Dublin City rose by 0.6% to €431,833 during the past three months, an annual increase of 1.41%.

Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford cities shared a combined increase of 2.4% in the past 12 weeks with prices rising by €6,000 to an average of €262,500.

Commuter counties are now feeling the benefit of the migration towards space and home working potential, with three bed semis rising 2.2% by almost €6,000 on the Q3 figure to an average of €253,111.

Reflecting the flight to rural locations, prices in the rest of the country’s towns rose by 1.2% in 12 weeks to €165,397.