The market is growing and auctioneers are looking forward to a busy summer H

OUSE prices in Wexford have risen by around five per cent since the beginning of the year, although demand for homes at the higher end of the market is still a little light. Overall the market is buoyant with auctioneers looking forward to a busy summer.

Rob McCormack, from REA McCormack Corish, said there had been a good start to the market since the beginning of the year.

‘ There has been a bit of a jump, although stock is low.. prices have risen by around five or six per cent for properties up to €200,000 and once you go over this figure demand is lighter,’ he said.

If you are a seller, the key is to be price sensitive and sell at a realistic price.

‘We just closed one sale in Castlebridge last week at €320,000. What you do see is that it is taking a bit longer for properties to close. The sales process on average should be six to eight weeks, now it’s taking eight to 12 weeks,’ said Mr McCormack.

One issue that a significant proportion of the market, perhaps as much as half of it, is being sold by banks and receivers.

‘Look at me, I’m in my 40s and bought my house 10 years ago.. I’m still in negative equity still and on a tracker mortgage, so I’m not going anywhere and quite a lot of people are in the same boat,’ he said.

‘It is a factor in that there’s quite a lot of stock, a big chunk of the market that’s no longer there.’

‘ The sooner we get more building going on in and around Wexford the better. There’s a bit more happening in Ardcavan, and a couple of sites within the ring road that will open this year and that will help in terms of supply,’ said Mr McCormack.

‘ There are a lot of punters out there, but the bulk of the them are at the €200,000.’

He said that after a major fall-off in buyers from the UK because of the Brexit vote slide in the value of Sterling against the Euro, there were signs that UK buyers were again looking to Wexford.

‘If Sterling continues to rise following the announcement of the UK general election, that could bring a re-entry into the market from buyers in the Uk and that would be most welcome,’ he said.

Colum Murphy, managing director Kehoe and Associates, said all the signs are positive in the market at the moment.

‘We’re very busy both on the residential and the commercial front and there are more auctions this year than there have been for some time,’ he said.

Mr Murphy said properties were sold at each of the auctions with the exception of one ‘and that’s under negotiation at the moment.’

‘It looks like we’re going to have a very busy summer. In the past few days, we have two properties sale agreed before we listed them on the Internet and that’s very much a sign of a rising market,’ he said.

‘We’ve a good number of properties coming on the market and at the same time are selling every week. They are coming in and going out. The key thing is to ensure that properties are priced correctly.’

Mr Murphy said capital values look like rising by 10 per cent by the end of the year.

‘ The market is in a good place, both in terms of where we are generally and also at the time of the year. You would choose ideally to put properties on the market from Easter onwards and that’s where we are now.’

Mr Murphy said there were signs of activity on building sites that hadn’t been there for a number of years and that too pointed an improving market, although semi-detached homes now selling for €180,000 would need to rise to €200,000 to bring builders back into the market.

But the local market was in a good place and Wexford was still an affordable place to buy for first time buyers and those looking for a bigger home.

He said he had just sold five out of the 10 houses on a new luxury development of fourbed detached homes at Crosstown, which were priced from €320,000 to €340,000.

On the commercial side of the business, Mr Murphy said he had three auctions planned.

Wexford-based auctioneer Dolores Power says that house price inflation is predicted to rise and accelerate in 2017.

This is largely due to lack of supply, better lending and strong demand from all categories of buyers, be it investors, first time buyers and those moving up the housing ladder.

She said that while the majority of buyers are Irish, purchasers have come from as far afield as the Ukraine, Switzerland and the USA.

‘Some of these are ex-pat’s returning or just making the move now before there are further increases in prices, and this applies also to the Irish buyer.

‘Investors have returned to the market in a big way because the yield on property is much higher than that which could be achieved from interest rates currently available from the Lending Institutions for money on deposit. Rental demand and rents have increased quite substantially over the past 12/18 months.’

Ms Power said the recovery in the Irish Economy in general has also had a very positive impact on house prices with Government initiatives such as the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme proving to be an advantage in certain areas.

However, the issue of lack of supply remains a very contentious one, and until this is adequately addressed, it would appear that prices will continue to rise as demand increases.

New Ross based auctioneer John Radford has seen a 60 per cent increase in activity in the local property market this year compared to the first four months of 2016.

Mr Radford, of Sherry Fitzgerald Radford, the Quay, New Ross, said: ‘ There is a good uptake on demand, especially for properties valued at between €160,000 and €400,000.’

The lack of property for sale in New Ross means buyers are increasingly moving to places within a 12 mile radius of the town like Adamstown, Ballycullane, Cushinstown and Gusserane due to the good road networks and schools, and the availability of reasonably priced properties in these locations.

Mr Radford said prices have risen by around nine per cent across the district over the past year.

‘Prices are holding very well and a lot of good stock priced at between €160,000 and €400,000 is selling well to people who meet the requirements of their bank. Many young buyers are now looking at bungalows where before they might have bought a three bed. There is good demand for existing stock, but there is a limited supply.’

In 2014 there were around 4,000 houses on the market in County Wexford and today the figure stands at around 1,500, leading to price increases.

‘ There is no significant building in New Ross yet as the building costs are killing the market for builders who can get good value on the sites, but A rated houses are costly to build.’

He said more jobs have been coming on stream in New Ross, which brings confidence to the market.

‘It’s like 2004 again, but there is more control as no fella is being paid €3 to lay a block. Vendors and buyers are more realistic.’

Mr Radford said commercial properties in New Ross are selling well, with multiple bidders in most cases.