Bargain time in the Kingdom

WHETHER property prices have hit the bottom is a moot point, but in Kerry, at least, the feeling is that it will be hard to beat the value and choices buyers are getting, at present.

The message from the real estate world is that buyers are relentlessly demanding value and will walk away if vendors are not prepared to come down and down in the prices they are seeking.

Auctioneer Daire Crowley of DNG WH Giles, Tralee and Dingle, can’t see house prices dropping any further.

“I don’t think people can go much lower. Inquiries are also picking up and it’s definitely a great time to be a buyer. I also think there would be more sales if the banks started lending money again,” she said.

However, Ms Crowley was quick to stress that if vendors are not ‘realistic’ in relation to the prices they seek for their properties, they won’t succeed in selling.

A situation has now been reached where three-bedroom, semi-detached houses can be purchased in many parts of Kerry for less than €200,000.

People with money in their pockets and who are not depending on reluctant lending institutions for credit have a huge advantage when it comes to purchasing.

With construction having ground to a virtual halt, everyone is looking for reasons to be optimistic about an upturn.

Houses are being built here and there, but there’s very little sign of a movement in the commercial property sector.

An indication of confidence in the future, however, is an application for planning permission for an 8,000 square metre shopping development in Dingle.

Dingle businessman John Moran is applying to Kerry County Council for planning for a development that would include a supermarket, smaller shops, offices and a leisure centre.