Increased activity a boost for property market

Ireland’s pummelled property market has received a second positive report this week, showing increased activity in both sales and viewings for the first quarter.

The news of significantly increased levels of activity over the corresponding period last year comes from national agency Savills, and is based on the Dublin market, where market commentators expect recovery to be first apparent.

According to Savills director Ronan O’Hara, viewing levels on properties for sale are up 400% on this time last year and sales agreed are up 60%.

It follows a Daft report earlier this week that shows the houses are now selling quicker than in recent years, with numbers on the market down to a four-year low of 54,000 homes. The pace of price fall has also slowed, noted Daft, to 1.4% for Q1.

Mr O’Hara said the comparative Q1 2011 activity levels were exceptionally low, but said it showed “growing evidence of buyers returning to the property market, particularly in the greater Dublin area”.

The percentage increases were on sales-agreed figures “in the high hundreds, but of less than 1,000 for Q1”, according to Mr O’Hara, who said he could not be more specific for commercial reasons.

His comments coincide with on-the-ground market feedback from other estate agents in cities such as Cork.

According to Savills, “with very few new properties coming to the market, we are seeing a shortage of secondhand homes in the greater Dublin area [some open viewings are attracting 30 people to half-hour appointments] and an increased demand”.

They suggest that this may translate into price rises in areas of most demand.

Mr O’Hara said that buyers who had been sitting it out for the past number of years and renting were “now tired of doing so, and want a place of their own”.

“They now feel comfortable bidding because they feel there is now genuine value in the market place. In addition to this, vendors are now in the main being very realistic, so prices are fair and buyers are responding favourably. Also, rents have gone up recently in Dublin and in some cases people are reporting that it is as cheap to pay a mortgage as it is to rent. Access to credit also seems to have improved a little.”