Mixed results but steady growth, says SF barometer

Counties Waterford and Tipperary had Munster’ s strongest recoveries in house sales by volume in 2013, according to the Sherry FitzGerald price barometer.

Sales jumped 17% in ‘13 to 681 in Waterford, and by 10% to 663 in Tipperary, while counties Clare and Limerick saw just a 2% movement in sales to 580, and 837 respectively. Cork city and county saw sales rise by 5% to 2861, and Kerry had a 6% increase, to 790 sales, according to Sherry FitzGerald’s economist Marian Finnegan.

Subject to minor changes in figures when full end-year tallies are registered, it looks like 27,000 house sales took place in 2013, of which 89% were of second hand stock, and just 11% new homes.

Some 54% of purchases were for cash, and investors made up 13% of buyers.

Professional investor activity in the multi-family residential end of the market saw 232m invested.

House prices nationally rose 9.2% as the market showed recovery signs, but if the Dublin market, (up 14%), is excluded, then growth was a more moderate 3.2% in the rest of the country — ranging from 13% in Galway (where sales volumes also surged by 21%), and a more sedate 4.5% in Cork. First time buyers made up 20% of buyers, down from 29% in 2012.

DoE figures to end Nov showed 7,425 housing completions, a 3% decline compared with the corresponding period of ‘12. Dublin accounted for just 16% of that figure, while Cork accounted for 14%.

Both new house registration and commencement figures were up in 2013 and Ms Finnegan predicts a 12-15% lift in Dublin and 5% nationally in 2014.