Average three-bed semi costs €170,000

THE price of the average three-bed semi in County Wexford has risen three per cent to €170,000 in the last three months, according to a national survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.

The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland’s typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an up-to-date picture of the property market in towns and cities countrywide to the close of last week.

The lack of supply is pushing up prices but the buying power is being hampered by local wage levels and lending restrictions,’ said Robert McCormack from REA McCormack Corish who reported a rise of 13.3 per cent in the county over the past year.

Last month estimates of average prices for three-bed semis in Wexford ranged from €145,000 to just under €200,000.

The average semi-detached house nationally now costs €221,843, the Q3 REA Average House Price Survey has found – a rise of 3.1 per cent on the Q2 figure of €215,269.

Overall, the average house price across the country has risen by 11.2 per cent over the past 12 months – just under twice the six per cent increase registered to the full year to September 2016.

The average three-bed semi-detached home in Dublin city has jumped in value by €17,000 in the three months to the end of September, and now costs €431,500.

The 4.1 per cent rise over the last quarter means that prices in the capital’s postcode areas have increased by 15.6 per cent over the past year, with properties selling in an average of four weeks after hitting the market. ‘Supply is the main driver of these continuing price rises with our agents reporting that the volume of listings is down around the country,’ said REA spokesperson Healy Hynes. ‘In what is becoming a vicious circle, families looking to trade up are not seeing the larger homes becoming available while empty nesters looking to downsize do not have a ready supply of smaller homes emerging on the market. ‘To complete the equation, first-time buyers are not seeing the three-bed semis coming through in sufficient numbers.’