Home sales jump in Cork and Leinster but drop in the capital

There has been a major rise in residential property sales in Cork, and in Dublin commuter counties.

A new study based on an analysis of residential property sales recorded in the Property Price Register last year shows that eight Leinster counties recorded increases of at least 5% in the number of sales, compared with 2018.

In Cork, sales rose by 5.9% (from 6,085 sales in 2018 to 6,447 sales last year). There has been a fall in activity in Dublin, with the number of sales in the capital dipping by 2.2% from 18,654 sales in 2018 to 18,247 sales in 2019.

Of the €17.8 billion transacted last year on homes, just over half changed hands in Dublin at €9.11bn, followed by Cork on €1.7bn, and Kildare on €1.02bn.

The study was carried out by property website MyHome.ie and shows that the number of sales nationwide was flat (up 1.6%) in 2019 compared to the year before (58,109 sales in 2019, compared with 57,206 in 2018).

Angela Keegan, managing director of MyHome.ie, said that the analysis confirmed a trend of significant activity in commuter counties.

“We knew from our analysis of the Property Price Register for the first half of 2019 that activity in commuter counties was sharply rising, and our analysis this time round proves that this trend continued throughout the year,” she said.

“The affordability of properties in the counties around Dublin is proving to be extremely popular, especially with first-time buyers who are constrained due to the Central Bank’s mortgage lending rules.

It is good to see new building starts in these counties have also continued, bringing more homes on the market where they are badly needed.

There was an almost even split in sales volume across the country, with 13 counties reporting a rise in figures, 10 counties experiencing drops, and three counties staying flat (Tipperary at 1%, Waterford at 0.1% and Limerick at 0.4%).

The market was healthier with regard to the value of transactions, with just six counties reporting a negative figure compared with 2018.

Dublin, which is responsible for almost a third of sales in the Irish property market, recorded 18,247 sales in 2019.

The capital was followed by Cork with 6,447 sales, Kildare with 3,385, Galway with 2,730, Meath with 2,670, and Limerick with 2,146 making up the top six.

The total value of national residential property transactions last year was approximately €1bn higher than the previous year (up 6.3%).

In total, the value of residential property sales recorded during 2019 was €17.88bn, compared with €16.84bn in 2018.