Survey reveals 24,448 homes sold in first six months of 2018
THE total value of homes sold in Ireland this year has risen significantly compared to last year.
A new survey by MyHome. ie has revealed the worth of all homes sold in the first six months of 2018 was 18pc higher than the total value of homes sold in the same period in 2017.
As the shortage of housing continues to affect the market, the number of homes sold between January and June rose by just 3pc compared to the first half of last year.
In Dublin, the number of sales was up 8pc on the same period last year.
MyHome.ie expects the overall number of sales this year to rise by up to 9pc to 60,000.
The study analysed the Property Price Register to show there were 24,448 sales nationally in the first half of the year. The value of those transactions also increased substantially, rising from €6.04bn to €7.11bn.
While the number of sales rose in 16 counties, they fell in nine and remained unchanged in one, the amount of money spent on property in each county was up in all but three counties — Louth, Monaghan and Clare.
While the falls in the number of sales in many counties were low or even marginal, there were sizable falls in Monaghan (21.7pc), Kilkenny (9.5pc), Cavan (9.2pc) and Clare (7.4pc).
Dublin, which is responsible for around a third of the property market, led the way in the first six months of the year with 8,187 sales — an increase of 8pc on the 7,582 sales recorded for the same period last year. However, the value of sales in the capital rose by a substantial 26pc to €3.8bn from €3.01bn.
The capital was followed by Cork with 2,532 sales, Kildare 1,250, Galway 1,094 with Meath 1,056 and Limerick 901 making the top six.
According to the Property Price Register, there were 335 €1m-plus sales in Dublin in the first half of the year. While 16 of the top 17 sales were for apartment blocks, the biggest one-off property sale was Inniscorrig, Coliemore Road, Dalkey in May for €7.8m.
Overall, there were 21 sales of €1m-plus in Cork with the largest one-off property sale being San Paula on Orchard Road for €1.9m in January.
Angela Keegan, managing director of MyHome.ie, said the increase in sales was welcome.
“We believe the total number of sales in 2018 will be close to 60,000, an increase of 9pc. To put this in context, there are around two million residential properties in Ireland, and in a normal functioning market, you’d expect to see 5pc or 100,000 properties changing hands annually. Clearly we still have some way to go but we are moving in the right direction.
“MyHome’s latest property report indicates prices are now cooling due to the lending controls introduced by the Central Bank which is also positive,” she said.