House Prices finally starting to drop?

Amazotheamazing

AUCTIONEERS are hoping that house sales will pick up in Dublin after dismal results last week.

Despite many agents' best endeavours to hide the fact, results show that many auctions took place last week where no bids were made at all.

Estate agents are now being forced to put up scores of properties for sale by private treaty. They are hoping that auction fever will revive in September when buying traditionally picks up again.

In a turnaround for the market, as many as half of all properties going up for auction in the capital are now being withdrawn. In many cases the prices finally achieved are below the prices reached just three months ago for similar properties.

The properties are selling under an 'advised minimum value' (AMV) rather than 'guide prices' after recent changes to auction guidelines.

Many that fail to achieve any bids are put back on the market under private treaty with a higher price.

Gunne are currently selling a four-bed property in Terenure which failed to achieve any bids at auction last week.

Number 28 Wasdale Park had an AMV of €1.85m but is now quoting €1.95m.

Similarly 18/20 Northumberland Road in Ballsbridge had an AMV of €9.5m at auction last week. It was withdrawn after no bids were made and is now quoting €10.75m.

Last week estate agents confirmed to the Irish Independent that they are seeing the beginning of the 'soft-landing'.

It was also confirmed that prices for properties in the mid-market range are dropping in prices for the first time in more than a decade.

The Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute confirmed that the market is cooling but said this would not affect the entire market but would strike in different areas.


Edel Kennedy

Big Nelly

This was on the radio last week but the story was some house went on the market for 500k, was at a peak of 700k but now the price has dropped to 680k. Not much of a drop and with news like this coming out wats the bets everyone runs out and buys a house thinking the prices have dropped and pushed them back up.

My uncle owns a building company and he has only seen prices rise in the last while. Prob just the media trying to burn up a few pages

mikedragon32

Auctions are a really bad way to buy a house. The AMV is generally unrealistic imho as it falls way short of what is expected, not to mention the reserve. At least sale by private treaty gives a more realistic estimate of the sale price.

seamus

Homes at the top end of the market are where the first signs of a soft landing are shown.

Homes costing more than €1 million aren't being bought for investment or to rent out, so at some point the fall-off in demand for these homes was inevitable. My gf's parents bought a house last week at the AMV - it was up for auction, but they were the only people who turned up, so they arranged an agreement with the sellers.

Homes in the first-time buyers/investors market (i.e. anything under €600k) will still see heavy demand for a while yet though, and the market will pick up in September as predicted. Further increases in interests rates will speed up the "soft landing", though whether rates will increase is anyone's guess.

jrey1981

they aint dropping in wicklow, where the prices have increased the most

Lex Luthor

its a slow time of year anyway...

2 houses on my street still on market and they normally get picked up in a week....

wait till aug again when things start moving

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

junii

If this soft landing happens when will there a decrease in price in the west. Specifically, Mayo in a prosporous town where many commuters live and there are many housing estates?

seamus

junii wrote:

If this soft landing happens when will there a decrease in price in the west. Specifically, Mayo in a prosporous town where many commuters live and there are many housing estates?

I'm not sure if they will drop. Although the housing boom has mostly focussed on the Leinster region, the spread of commuters outside of the Pale may encourage companies to set up further out west where rents and employment costs are lower. This will cause commuters to move even further west and the west may even experience a mini-boom of its own.

Any soft landing won't result in a drop in house prices in general. Rather the year-on-year growth of prices will normalise to somewhat sane levels.

hmmm

Anyone else find it hilarious that when the houses didn't receive a bid, they err upped the price? "It's not selling, obviously it's too cheap". Truly this property market is a new paradigm.

Calina

hilarious = insane?

welcome to la la land.

The_Conductor

It is a little insane that when people are not interested in bidding at auction at the AMV (advised minimum value) that the houses would subsequently go to private tender at higher prices......

Times they are a'changin'

magpie

This just shows that the people are wise to the fact that the "AMV" in no way reflects what the seller expects to get for the property. People not showing up at auctions are voting with their feet. I for one would be much happier buying through private treaty, as you have a somewhat better idea of the final price of the house. Auctions have traditionally been a way to artificially drive up the value at sale, so maybe people have had enough of being reamed by estate agents - or auctioneers as they like to call themselves

seamus

magpie wrote:

Auctions have traditionally been a way to artificially drive up the value at sale, so maybe people have had enough of being reamed by estate agents - or auctioneers as they like to call themselves

Well, it's a symptom of greed really. Why would someone put their huge house up for sale by private treaty, when they can go to auction and hope that a developer turns up and doubles (or more) the actual value of the place?

I think it's indicative of a slowdown when even the developers aren't turning up for these expensive places. After all, if you knock down a €3m house in Terenure and put five apartments in its place, you need to expect five people to come along and buy those apartments at €1m each, which is now increasingly unlikely.

dazberry

I've seen a number of houses around my way appearing to not sell - and at that being for sale for a long time (signs evertually disappear without sale agreed or sold in some cases - so I don't know).

Only in one case that I know of was there a price drop, and at that these are 2 bed terraced, this was being marketed as a 3 bed because it had a corridor in a back extension FFS. Still for sale - heard (verified) last asking price was down 20k, don't know what the asking price is now.

Don't see things dropping here but I don't see things moving either, and I see a lot (LOT) more property for sale this quiet summer season than last year - and I see a lot more apartments for sale around here too for some reason.

Time will tell?

D.