Are some properties in Dublin now getting close to asking prices?

Degringola

I made appointments today to see 7 properties. They're a mix of 2/3 bedroom apartments and 3 bedroom houses in Greystones, Blackrock, Monkstown, D4, Malahide, Howth and Clontarf.

Having spoken to the agents it turns out that 4 of them have offers on them close to the asking price, and one has an offer above asking. One is gone Sale Agreed at 20k below asking.

2 of them were on the market last year but taken off and rented out, now up for sale again. 2 others only came on the market a couple of weeks ago.

One agent told me people don't trust the banks and are putting their money into property instead. She said last 2 weeks have been extremely busy with lots of Sale Agreeds.

Are we back to madness in some areas/ properties?
Should I believe what the agents are telling me?

gaius c

Degringola wrote: »

I made appointments today to see 7 properties. They're a mix of 2/3 bedroom apartments and 3 bedroom houses in Greystones, Blackrock, Monkstown, D4, Malahide, Howth and Clontarf.

Having spoken to the agents it turns out that 4 of them have offers on them close to the asking price, and one has an offer above asking. One is gone Sale Agreed at 20k below asking.

2 of them were on the market last year but taken off and rented out, now up for sale again. 2 others only came on the market a couple of weeks ago.

One agent told me people don't trust the banks and are putting their money into property instead. She said last 2 weeks have been extremely busy with lots of Sale Agreeds.

Are we back to madness in some areas/ properties?

It's not really borne out in the PPR or CSO figures.

Should I believe what the agents are telling me?

Eh.......no.

Henry Ford III

Take all that with a large punch of salt.

The Spider

Believe what you want, but prices are definitely moving, they've jumped a bit since last year. I'd point out from that CSO report.

In the year to April, residential property prices at a national level, fell by 1.2%. This compares with an annual rate of decline of 3.0% in February and a decline of 16.4% recorded in the twelve months to April 2012.

That's at national level and it's a tiny drop in comparison to last year, you also have to bear in mind that it also means that some parts have either stopped dropping or are beginning to rise, because the property market doesn't all operate at the same rate, so 1.2% is a percentage of over all sales within the country, so a higher amount of drops in the country can cancel out rises in Dublin or else make them look like less than they are.

Ray Palmer

You are effectively looking in the areas of the highest demand in the country barring the extreme high end. A lot of anecdotal evidence to say these are now reaching their asking prices and rising.

Considering the difficulty getting rental property in Dublin it would be fair to say prices will rise further in these areas. There is a limited supply in those areas in particular and few Nama owned property in Dublin and probably none in the areas you are looking. So no signs of a change in supply so it sounds completely plausible these areas will be reaching the asking prices.

The point you do have to look out for is that EA use different pricing techniques. Some over value and others undervalue. So there isn't even a consistent meaning to reaching the asking price or not.

mick_ee

I know of three houses in Dublin 9 which exceeded their asking price in the past month

strandroad

It depends. We've been looking in Dublin for the last few months and some of the houses we checked sold above asking, some below asking and some are still languishing there because they are not worth what the sellers want for them.

Asking price is just a construct anyway, depends purely on seller's/agent's strategy. If they pitch it low it will be exceeded, if they pitch it high the house will sell below or won't sell at all.You should be looking at stats for sold properties, not at asking prices.

hfallada

The estate agents might just be pricing them low to get people in the door. They list it at 350,000 but know it will get 400,000 anyway.

Citycap

hfallada wrote: »

The estate agents might just be pricing them low to get people in the door. They list it at 350,000 but know it will get 400,000 anyway.

You are right there. The agent has to create a market and give the impression there is a demand thus starting a bidding war. Once the asking price is reasonable enough it is being reached and exceeded in certain areas of Dublin and for certain type properties.
People must realise that there is no such thing as a property market. What there is are several different property markets which respond to the particular demands of buyers.

As regards pricing the agent is also aware of the various property tax bands and prices accordingly.

handlemaster

I think the OP is right in a way ive been watching asking prices in West Dublin for a while. While its not a hugh increase in asking prices there is an upward movement. Id say come november it would be better to look back and see how it actually panned out it selling prices

Degringola

Thanks all for the input.

I suppose what's surprising me most is that I would consider the asking prices for the properties I'm looking at very high and yet they're still getting such high bids.

When I was looking at them online, I thought 'I'll go in low' but that strategy would seem pointless if what the agents are saying is true. And all seven of them were singing from the same hymn sheet. The thought of a bidding war freaks me out.

And Citycap you're right, there are certainly several different markets even just within Dublin.

handlemaster

take what EA say with a lorry load of salt

handlemaster

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/ireland/irish-property-market-has-hit-bottom-probably-1.1427997

article from times on their view

xper

I've been seriously looking at houses for nearly a year now in south Dublin. About five or six of those I've viewed have ticked sufficient number of boxes that I was interested in making a bid at or close to the asking price. All of them have ended up going into a bidding war and ending up way above asking and what I as prepared to offer. The latest one I viewed is currently being fought over by two bidders with the latest bid about 35% above asking - asking price was slightly above what similar houses on the same streets sold for last year. Even the EA told me it was mad (after I said I was out).

I think the problem is there is a very, very short supply of good properties in sought after areas. Literally handfuls per month and you only need a slightly larger number of potential buyers to start the bidding war. This is masked because there is an awful lot of crap on the market which is not selling or not seeing these bidding wars that the few choice properties are generating. I suspect this is why the sales graphs you see don't show huge spikes in sales prices. On average, we are bumbling along the bottom, even in the 'good' areas but there is a mad scramble for anything decent in each price bracket.

miezekatze

We've been looking (in SCD) since the beginning of this year and nearly all of the houses that we were seriously interested in went for or over asking price. In some cases, the asking price was already higher than we would've been prepared to pay, in other cases we would've payed asking but no more than that. The problem is that there don't seem to be many houses available that are in move in condition. Whenever one comes up that doesn't need major work, it's snapped up right away. Houses that do need lots of work are often priced almost as high as ones that are ready to move in, in my experience, so that kind of rules them out.

On the other hand though, you can never trust estate agents. I don't know how many times I've been told at viewings to place a bid as soon as possible and that the property will be gone within days, at least for asking price.. only for it to sit on myhome for weeks and weeks.

imfml

Asking prices are a moving target these days. Two houses I have been looking at in Dublin have had the asking prices 'adjusted' downwards. It is infuriating to hear the estate agent tell me they then have an offer of the asking price (which they have dropped by 30k).