€1m sales a rarity in difficult 2009

MILLION-PLUS house sales – even in Dublin – were rare as hen’s teeth in the comatose year now coming to end, without any recovery signs imminent, either.

The market was characterised by activity mostly at the lower, sub-€300,000 end and first-time buyer sector, which may trickle through into trading up activity in 2010, and by late-year there was some small pick up in the mid-price sector.

“The year started slowly, but when vendors got more real about selling prices, it picked up, and October/November wasn’t bad in the end with some good sales and volume. I wish there was another quarter in the year,” said one pleasantly-surprised national agency auctioneer doing end-of-year figures, adding “those who traded up found they were skipping one or two rungs on the ladder and getting far more house for their money.”