LOUTH HOUSE PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE

AVERAGE PRICE FOR THREE BED IS €187,500 WHILE €14M SPENT ON RENOVATIONS IN COUNTY

THE price of the average threebed semi in Louth has risen 1.4% to €187,500 in the last three months, according to a national survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.

And new figures on the Home Renovation Incentive which was launched in 2013 show that Louth homeowners have spent €14 million on doing up their properties.

The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland’s typical stock home, the threebed semi, giving an up-to-date picture of the property market for the first three months of the year.

The average price of the three-bed semi in Drogheda is now €210,000, while in Dun- dalk, the equivalent property is achieving €165,000.

‘A lot of new homes have been launched in Dundalk, and this has affected the second-hand market, resulting in properties taking longer to sell’, said Michael Gunne, REA Gunne Property, Dundalk.

Overall, the average house price across the country has risen by 10.9% over the past 12 months – a marked increase on the 7.7% rise registered to the end of December 2016.

The average three-bed semi-detached in Dublin city now costs €404,167, a rise of €15,000 (3.9%) in the last three months and an increase of 12.8% over the past year. The commuter counties including Louth rebounded after a relatively static end to 2016 to rise by 2.9% in the past three months.

Meanwhile, Louth homeowners have availed of €14 million in total through the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) since its launch in 2013. This incentive has facilitated homeowners in carrying out 1,159 home improvement projects throughout Louth over the last three years with an average spend of €12,079 per project.

The extension of the HRI to rental properties in late 2014 added further activity. The HRI provides homeowners with an income tax credit at 13.5% of qualifying expenditure on improvements works carried out by qualifying contractors.