A study of property sales by postcode shows that transactions have fallen in some Dublin areas in the first six months of the year.
Despite recent reports of rising house prices in the capital, and anecdotal evidence of increased activity in the market, actual transactions in Dublin 5, 14, 15, 16 and 20 have fallen compared with the same period last year. The findings revealed to The Irish Times support a growing concern about the lack of new stock of family housing coming to the market in some suburban areas.
The research, conducted by property portal myhome.ie, is based on the Property Price Register (propertypriceregister.ie) of houses sold and covers transactions and overall sales in each Dublin postcode for every year since 2010.
Since it was established, Dublin 14, 15 and 16 have topped the register for house buying activity annually, which would point to a lack of stock depressing activity in these areas.
Reflecting the general trend towards rising prices in the capital, in the areas where transactions have fallen overall sales values are up, except in Dublin 15. Transactions there fell by 20 per cent in the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year, while total sales in that area for the same period are down 10 per cent.
According to managing director of myhome.ie Angela Keegan, “These figures reflect the shortage of family homes coming to the market. Certainly people are hanging on to their tracker mortgages rather than moving from a three- to a four-bed semi. We also need to see more new developments coming on stream in the greater Dublin area. A release of stock from the banks and Nama to these areas might bring transactions to more normal levels.”
More than two-thirds of the 24 postcode areas have seen the highest number of transactions conducted in the first half of 2013, compared with the same six month periods in the preceding three years since the price register began.
The areas that have seen the greatest gains in the number of houses sold are Dublin 1 (up 69 per cent), Dublin 6W (up 61 per cent), and Dublin 17 (up 68 per cent).
Meanwhile the total value of sales is up in almost 80 per cent of Dublin postcode areas, compared with the first six months of last year. The big winners here were Dublin 1 (up 71 per cent), Dublin 6W (up 53 per cent), Dublin 8 (up 404 per cent, skewed somewhat by the inclusion of the one-off sale of Clancy Quay apartment block for €60 million), Dublin 12 (up 60 per cent) and Dublin 17 (up 67 per cent).
Outside the city
Co Dublin – beyond the postcode areas – has seen an increase in house-buying activity with transactions up 17 per cent, and an increase in the total value of sales of 24 per cent.
The areas that registered a year-on-year fall in the value of house sales for the first six months were Dublin 9 (down 14 per cent), Dublin 10 (down 13 per cent), Dublin 11 (down 3 per cent), Dublin 15 (down 10 per cent) and Dublin 20 (down 11 per cent).
Money raised from sales is also at a three-year high with €1.197 billion brought in from total sales in the capital from January 1st to June 30th. This is a 19 per cent increase on the first half of 2012, when total sales were €965 million.
myhome.ie/dublinanalysis
