Wicklow People

House prices remain highest in Co Wicklow

- BY EIMEAR DODD

WICKLOW’S homebuyers continue to face an uphill struggle against rising prices, according to a new report.

The latest MyHome.ie Property Report in associatio­n with Davy found that property prices in the garden county have risen by €10,000 in the last year. The analysis also reveals that the county remains the most expensive for homebuyers.

According to the report, the latest increase means house prices in Wicklow at their highest level since quarter four of 2010 when they stood at €339,000.

The analysis showed an annual increase of 3.1 per cent in house prices in the county. The annual national rate of inflation is 0.3 per cent. The median (middle) asking price for a home in the garden county stands at €330,000, up 0.3 per cent from the second quarter’s median price of €329,000.

The report looked at home prices for the three months between June and August 2019, a period when the property market tends to be quieter.

The overall trend in prices was reflected in the asking price for a three-bed semi-detached house in the county, which were up 8.7 per cent on last year’s figure of €299,000.

Meanwhile, the asking price for a fourbed semi-detached house in Wicklow fell in the third quarter by 2.3 per cent from €435,000 to €425,000. However, prices were still up 17.2 per cent on this time last year when prices stood at €362,500, an increase of €62,500. The asking price for a two-bed apartment stood at €245,000, a fall of 1.8 per cent on the same period last year.

The number of properties for sale in Wicklow on the MyHome.ie was up 4.7 per cent on this time last year.

The average time for a property to go sale agreed in the county after being placed up for sale stands at five months. Nationally, the average time to sale agreed was 3.7 months.

THE more prepared your son is, the easier his move home will be so he should start his research as soon as he can. Citizens Informatio­n has developed a new online ‘Returning to Ireland’ resource with a broad range of informatio­n specifical­ly intended for Irish citizens who are living abroad and are planning to return home to live in Ireland.

This new online resource is filled with practical informatio­n to help Irish citizens plan their return and settle back in Ireland as smoothly as possible. It covers everything from residency applicatio­ns for non-EU family members, applying for passports for children and accessing the public health system on your return to Ireland.

If your son is planning to start work when he returns, he may want to know about PPS numbers, registerin­g for tax purposes and getting recognitio­n for foreign qualificat­ions in Ireland. If he is returning with a family or children he may need to know about applying for Child Benefit, enrolling in school or college and exemptions from learning the Irish language in school. The site also has informatio­n about converting a foreign driving license to an Irish one, getting car insurance as a returning Irish emigrant and travelling to Ireland with your pet.

Further informatio­n is available from the Citizens Informatio­n Service below.

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