House price surges add 762 members to millionaires’ row
THERE are more than 4,500 people in Ireland currently sitting on a fortune of at least €1million – as that is the price of their home.
And with the rise in house prices showing no sign of abating, ‘millionaire property’ owners are on the rise – with a new Daft.ie report showing that there are now 20% more than there were last year.
In terms of numbers, that means 762 people joined ‘millionaires’ row’ over the last 12 months.
Sandycove in Dublin, Salthill in Galway, and Kinsale in Cork command the highest average prices in their provinces.
Ireland’s most expensive street is unsurprisingly in Dublin 4 – specifically on Eglington Road in Donnybrook.
The report also showed that some markets, such as Dublin 8, Louth and Westmeath have seen a rapid increase in average prices over the last few years.
As the prices of residential dwellings continue to soar – jumping by 7.3% on average from last year – an average of 15 people per week are buying a home worth €1million or more.
Dalkey has the highest number of property millionaires, with 609 in the south Co. Dublin village owning a million-euro dwelling. This is followed by 576 property millionaires in Blackrock, and 551 in Rathgar, both also in south Dublin.
The annual report reveals that buying a property in certain south Dublin neighbourhoods comes with the steepest price tag, with the top five most expensive markets all located in the south east of Dublin. Anyone hoping to purchase a house in Sandycove can expect to fork out an average of €910,000. This staggering price is followed by average property values of €821,000 in Mount Merrion; €818,000 in Foxrock; €758,000 in Dalkey; and €726,000 in Sandymount.
Outside the capital, the research shows that Salthill, with an average property price of €345,000, is the most expensive area in Connacht and Ulster, followed by Kinvara at €318,000 and Galway city at €274,000. In Munster, the most expensive region is Kinsale at €369,000, with the remaining top slots occupied by Cork’s commuter towns at €359,000 and Rochestown at €328,000.
Meanwhile, the areas outside the capital in Leinster with the highest price tag are all in Co. Wicklow – namely Enniskerry at €648,000; Delgany at €466,000; and Greystones at €414,000.
The report’s author, economist and Ronan Lyons, said that property millionaires will become more common if the current trend in rising house prices continues.
‘Two, three years ago very few properties were worth anything close to a million but the last couple of years of increases in Dublin have just pushed relatively ordinary homes in [to] that territory,’ he told the Irish Daily Mail.
‘Of course if this continues for another two or three years, a pretty average home will be worth close to a million.’
Mr Lyons said that while these figures will not be welcomed by those hoping to buy a property, it is positive news for homeowners.
‘In general, rising prices are good if you own a property and even if you do or don’t have a mortgage, if the value is going up, it’s good for your balance sheet,’ he said.
‘A separate question is how you realise some of that wealth – just because it’s going up on paper doesn’t mean that you can touch it or get access to it.’
‘Good news if you own a property’