Prices of rural homes shoot up as remote staff f lee our cities
REMOTE working is pushing up house prices in r ural I r el and as employees working from home escape urban life, a study has found.
Estate agents expect house values to rise by more than 4% this year, according to the National Property Price Guide published yesterday.
Working from home has also enabled people to buy larger homes further from cities.
The sharpest rises were in counties Galway, Kerry, Laois, Monaghan and Roscommon as buyers decided they would only be commuting one or two days a week in the future.
Linda Daly, editor of the price guide from The Sunday Times, said: ‘Estate agents have noticed people are moving out, not just Dublin, but cities such as Galway and Cork as well, and into more suburban areas and towns such as Loughrea in Galway.’
Ms Daly added: ‘One estate agent in Loughrea said people who were coming from Galway City were willing to spend more and had pushed prices up of ready-to-move-in houses as they had more money, coming from the city.’
However, there is still huge disparity around the country, with a three-bedroom home costing €440,000 in places like Greystones, Co. Wicklow, and €385,000 on Model Farm Road, Co. Cork. The most affordable homes are in counties Sligo, Leitrim and Cavan, where three-bed semis can be bought for less than €100,000.
This year’s guide indicates that the estate agents expect average prices to rise by 4.1% i n the 25 counties i n the Republic outside of Dublin, significantly higher than the 2.5% increase forecast for the capital itself.
The most affordable threebedroom s e mi- detached homes are i n Ballymote/ Tubercurry, Co. Sligo, and Mohill, Co. Leitrim, where they cost between €95,000 and €105,000. This is followed by Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, where they cost between €105,000 and €115,000.
In stark contrast, someone buying the equivalent home in Greystones is looking at payi ng € 440,000. Model Farm Road and Ballinlough, Co. Cork, were the next most expensive, fetching around €385,000 and €370,000 respectively. In Salthill, Co. Galway, a similar sized property would fetch around €340,000.
Ms Daly said: ‘In less than nine months, the pandemic has reshaped Ireland’s housing market, with those lucky enough to be able to afford a move escaping the city and prioritising space for home offices and gardens.
‘Property prices nationally are still 19.6% off their 2007 peak but there are signs of a tipping point towards a more equitable market rather than one dominated by Dublin.’
According to the Central Statistics Office’s Residential Property Price i ndex, the region outside of Dublin that saw the largest rise in house prices was the south-west at 3.3%. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, the mid-west saw a 4% decline.
House construction was able to recommence following the first Covid lockdown but was nowhere near the level required to meet the demand that was there, and stock shortages are likely to be one of the major factors determining prices in the year ahead.
The Central Bank’s three and a half times annual salary limit on borrowing ensured the market was never over-inflated.
However, those lending restrictions have made it even tougher for many people who have received the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment to qualify for mortgages.
With Brexit reaching a dramatic 11th hour conclusion, there is less uncertainty hanging over the market and agents are hopeful that they will see more activity in the year ahead.
Much of this depends on the ongoing health crisis and the likelihood of extended periods of lockdown.
They can afford larger homes
They’ll commute one or two days