House price down 4.7% in the third quarter of 2009
This post goes through some of the findings from the latest Daft.ie Report, out this morning, which reviews trends up to the end of September. Optimists can point to falling stock for sale and quicker sale times in Dublin. Clear regional differences are now emerging in the house price adjustments, while sellers many counties also seem to engaging in a six month wait-and-see strategy. Read more
House prices in Cork: Rebel County by name, rebel county by nature!
This post continues the regional review of house prices with an analysis of four-bedroom homes in the different suburbs of Cork. It finds that Cork bucks the trend seen generally in the country and in Dublin and Galway cities that more expensive areas have fallen hardest. The largest falls in Cork have been in Glanmire. It then explores some of the likely explanations for these different regional trends. Read more
Five years, six property markets, mixed fortunes
The last four years have been remarkable in the global property market – so remarkable that comparisons with nominal collapses in house prices of 95% (as happened in Georgian Dublin) are being seriously discussed. A quick examination of six different cities around the world since 2005 shows a whole range of experiences from collapse in Detroit to more recent falls in Hong Kong. Read more
Is it cheaper to buy or rent?
In this post, I take a look at the maths behind buying or renting. Amazingly, even in heady market of 2006, it was cheaper to buy than rent. With rates back down at very low rates, and generous mortgage interest relief, it is once again cheaper to buy than rent – and looks set to stay that way, unless there are significant changes to the tax system. Read more
How many Irish homes are in negative equity?
Ireland’s property market is currently in rewind. Homes now are at March 2005 values – or July 2004, if asking prices are 10% above closing prices. Figures from daft.ie, the Census and the Dept of the Environment allow an estimate of both the number of homes now worth less than when they were bought – about 725,000, or 40% of homes – and how many of those are in negative equity -about 340,000, or 20% of homes. Read more