House rebuild costs fall 7.75%

REBUILDING costs for houses have fallen by 7.75% across the country and by 9% in Dublin, which results in cheaper house insurance.

The findings are contained in a report published by the Society of Chartered Surveyors.

The SCS, which is the largest construction and property industry body in the country, said the guide would help to assist homeowners insure their property.

The chairman of the quantity surveyors division of the SCS, Micheal O’Connor said home owners should ensure these lower rebuild costs were reflected in theirinsurance premiums.

“This is good news for homeowners. We would urge them to go to our website www.scs.ie before they renew their house insurance, or if they want to check they are paying the appropriate premium,” he said.

By doing this “straightforward calculation people could end up making considerable savings”, Mr O’Connor said.

The figures were also good news for anyone in the unfortunate position of having to rebuild their home or for those planning to build their own homes, he said.

The biggest decreases were seen in Dublin – which has the most expensive rebuild costs for all six house types surveyed.

Falls of between €170 to €185 per sq metre were recorded in the rebuild costs, he said. The surveys covers rebuilding costs for the main house types in all five major urban areas of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

The dip in prices means the cost of rebuilding a typical 3-bedroom 95sqm house in Dublin has fallen from €223,339, about €200 per sq metre, to €204,056, a fall of 8.6%.

The cost of rebuilding a four-bedroom 118sqm detached house in the capital has fallen from €257,669 to €235,668 – €186 per sqm – and a fall of 8.5%.

In Cork, the cost of rebuilding the same house is down from €195,955 to €181,978, a dip of 7.1%.