Commuters create demand for new builds in Clare
THE MARKET ENNIS’S popularity with workers in neighbouring Limerick, Galway and Shannon has meant that there has been a need for new building to keep up with demand.
It commenced in Ennis in 2018 for the first time in over 10 years, and sales have been strong.
Diarmuid McMahon of Sherry FitzGerald McMahon is delighted to see the builders move in.
“We’re nearly a suburb of Limerick at this stage in Ennis,” says McMahon. “People are living here and working in Shannon, Limerick and Galway. We were losing potential buyers who worked in these places because we didn’t have the stock for them to buy so it’s great seeing new homes coming on. We’ve good employment around us. Galway is about 35-40 minutes to Oranmore, Limerick is about 20 minutes away and Shannon is 15.”
First-time buyers are most active when it comes to the new builds, even though they are about 15pc higher in price than second-hand. The average growth in 2018 was 12pc, with certain areas going higher. Brexit doesn’t seem to be having much impact either. “We haven’t really felt a hit from Brexit,” says McMahon. “The Irish Open is coming to Lahinch this year and there’s a great buzz.”
If UK buyers have fallen away, they’ve been replaced by Americans. “There are a lot of foreign buyers at the moment, particularly US for the first time,” says McMahon. “In the early Noughties, they wouldn’t touch Irish property... but now they think it’s a good time to buy in.”
Highest price on the register was Ballyhannon Castle in Quin sold to a US buyer last June for €1.175m. A five-bed detached with sea views went for €615,000 in Lahinch.