Softening house market?

Private treaty is private treaty. After you finish bidding you have to get an engineer to inspect the house and verify planning. Solicitor has to verify title. You now have to get the bank to release the mortgage. The hidden issues appear at that stage as well any issue with title, unpaid management fees, the fact the house next door has planning for a 2k sq ft extension that is overlooking your patio

I'm trying to figure out if I'm better off going for somewhere that does need some - but not major - work. I'm someone who's fairly easy-going about where I live, it doesn't need to be out of a Homes & Garden magazine, and can live with something that I chip away at, project by project, over the years. So there might be more value in buying somewhere at a sensible price that needs work, rather than a turnkey property that will cost 100k extra - assuming that renovation costs will eventually come back down somewhat. Which might be a big assumption..!

Would expect houses like this to hurt the most in a softening market (these got hammered when they launched back in 08). Large, expensive and in a fairly undesirable location. Surprising to see it pushing well through asking with multiple bidders.

https://www.huntersestateagent.ie/property/residential/for-sale/cowicklow/kilmacanogue/rocky-valley-crescent/HUT31670206

It looks fine in the context of the market of recent times. But if we’re talking/expecting a ‘softening’, perhaps back to pre-covid levels - it certainly isn’t that. That house would have made c.825-875k in 2020.

Think it’s the type of house where ‘softening’ would show early and it doesn’t show any signs of it.

Yeah perhaps you’re right. I was more thinking of it being a amazing home in a less than prime location. They got absolutely battered last time around.

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/receiver-cuts-price-of-wicklow-homes-by-over-half-1.739893

We looked at a place in that estate during the lull in early 2020 when the market was weak and it was getting no interest at all, whereas similar houses in Greystones etc. still had bids coming in.

Sorry, DataDude. Where are you seeing the price with multibidders etc.? Is it information you are privy to as a bidder or is it in the link you supplied and I just can't see it?

I somewhat agree with you with regards to softening and these particular houses but I would say that I think Covid changed the market slightly. I think the balance between house/garden size and commuting distance skewered back toward rural a bit the last couple of years. This is just my perception and could be total BS. lol.

Cheers, appreciated.

It is not reasonable to extrapolate from an individual property to the entire market. There can be individual factors involved in an individual property which are not general. The issue in this thread is whther the market as a whole is softening or not. that can only be seen in the context of the numbers of properties on the market and the lag between going on the market and sale agreed.

I have a family member selling a property in Harold’s cross. Small two bedroom terrace house. Asking price was €245,000. I thought it would fetch more given the area. It not suitable for kids but would be for professionals. It’s has a buyer in sale agreed now but it was on the market for about six to eight months before going sale agreed I think it’s at the nine month now and still not closed.

The asking price of 245 K for a two bedroom house in Harold's cross does indeed strike me as rather low. Harold's Cross in Dublin is a good location, I'd say. Without having seen the property, I would have expected a price tag of something around 400 K at least.

Apart from that, the housing market in Ireland has all the elements of signs possibly pointing to softening:

• A recession on the horizon, the overall political outlook is unstable, from Ukraine to Taiwan
• Cost of living and energy prices going up and up driving further insecurity
• Levels of prices of 2007 are often already reached, plus the economy can't go any better and won't in these times.
• Two mortgage lenders, KBC and UlsterBank pulling out, offering less choice on mortgages
• Interest rate increases expected and so will the cost of lending

I don't think that property values would crash, like they did in the financial crisis, but I would put my bets that there will be a correction in the market, leading to slowly reclining prices and longer sales transaction cycles.

well said

Terrace house, no garden and thought it has two bedrooms it’s still small. It would suit a young professional. Turn the smaller room into an office or something. It’s problem is really that there is no storage space.

I would have expected this to be a "two up two down" kind of terraced house with a small garden, but again, I haven't seen the property so it's hard to judge.

This is what people said in early 2007 and never thought what could happen.

Maybe you're correct, we all don't know. The Irish have a habit and tendency of not wanting to see any warning signs on the property market.

However, I'd say, the current situation is "unhealthy" to a certain extent.

If say in Dublin, one is expected to pay 1200 to 1400 Euros a month for just a room if one is lucky to even be considered, with the only luxury an en-suite, anybody smart would consider emigrating. This price tag gets you a 2 bedroom apartment in any major city in Germany like Munich or Frankfurt, or a one bedroom in Paris or London, yours not sharing with anybody. There are also other universities elsewhere and other jobs elsewhere and public transport slightly more reliable than Dublin bus.