Property Market 2020

SozBbz

GreeBo wrote: »

Apartments (or rather Irish apartments) serve a very narrow period in most peoples lives.

If you had to choose between a 1 bed in Ticknock or a 3 bed house in Clonsilla, then I would always go for the house.
Sure it might not tick all your boxes, but you can start a family in it. Of all the options, pausing when you start a family is not really something you want to be forced into imo. Biological clocks and all that.

Yep, I bought my first home at 28 and while I struggled to find a house I was happy wiht, I ended up buying a 3 bed duplex, and while I've moved on I was happy living there for 5 years and could feasibly have carried on doing so. The property had its own door and despite having a 2 bed apartment underneath, it was laid out like a very conventional 3 bed semi/terrace and measured roughly 102m2, so the proportions of the rooms etc were good. It also had an attic which I wouldnt have had in a standard apartment so from a storage point of view it was great. It was only near the green luas and a large employment area so I knew I'd always be able to rent it.

When I was looking at properties, I could have easily had my head turned by cheaper, immaculate 2 bed apartments but I think they would have started to be claustrophobic and small after a while.

I bought it as a single person so I felt that if all else failed, I'd always have it to go back to. Now living in a house with a large back garden, I'd be pushed to maintain a place like this on my own but it suits myself and my OH, and has room to grow overtime. We bought this house because we wanted to buy together, and frankly because we could. We didnt actually need to move out of the duplex though, it was more than adaquite for out needs.

Stark

Adelyn Late Sportsmanship wrote: »

There is a lot of dislike of apartments on boards. Some have had very bad experiences but I do enjoy apartment living over a house.

Maybe you got one of the better ones?

So many apartments thrown up over the boom with little regard given to the people who would be living there. Sound proofing being a major issue for a lot of people (personally not an issue for me, I'm not noise intolerant). Storage is the big issue from my point of view. No thought for people who own bikes etc. In most apartments I've encountered abroad, the owners have access to outside/basement storage.

Adelyn Late Sportsmanship

Adelyn Late Sportsmanship wrote: »

There is a lot of dislike of apartments on boards. Some have had very bad experiences but I do enjoy apartment living over a house.

It's because of the rubbish box type apartments they build here. No space, No storage, hardly any outside space.
I was overseas a couple of year's ago & lived in a 2 bed apartment I loved. Lots of room, plenty of storage, 3 balconies. If I could have the same here I would snap it up!

mees2020

A lot of people keep repeating it as mantra on this thread that "If you are buying for a long term, no point to wait for a price drop. In a long run house won't be a negative equity anyway, its better to get mortgage while you can, etc."

I completely disagree. Simple math:
You borrow from bank 300k at 3.2 interest for 30 years. Your monthly payment will be 1297 per month. The cost of credit will be 167k.

You wait for 6 months hoping that prices will drop. So in case of 20% drop you now need to borrow only 300-60=240k.
Same interest 3.2, almost same monthly payment even slightly less 1267eur and you are mortgage free in 22 years (8 earlier) and cost of credit 94k (73k less to greedy banks).

So you have waited for 6 months. It's not that long when you are buying a house. But you save yourself tons of money and 8 years of mortgage. Less chance for negative equity as well.

I am planning to buy.I have a solid deposit and have a well paid job not affected by C19. I am not even considering buying now. Not until its clear where is the bottom line. Even if I loose extra 10k-15k paying rent, it still worth it.

SozBbz

mees2020 wrote: »

A lot of people keep repeating it as mantra on this thread that "If you are buying for a long term, no point to wait for a price drop. In a long run house won't be a negative equity anyway, its better to get mortgage while you can, etc."

I completely disagree. Simple math:
You borrow from bank 300k at 3.2 interest for 30 years. Your monthly payment will be 1297 per month. The cost of credit will be 167k.

You wait for 6 months hoping that prices will drop. So in case of 20% drop you now need to borrow only 300-60=240k.
Same interest 3.2, almost same monthly payment even slightly less 1267eur and you are mortgage free in 22 years (8 earlier) and cost of credit 94k (73k less to greedy banks).

So you have waited for 6 months. It's not that long when you are buying a house. But you save yourself tons of money and 8 years of mortgage. Less chance for negative equity as well.

I am planning to buy.I have a solid deposit and have a well paid job not affected by C19. I am not even considering buying now. Not until its clear where is the bottom line. Even if I loose extra 10k-15k paying rent, it still worth it.

Groundhog day.

Ignores 2 massive variables that are beyond your control.

-Based on whatever low number of transactions happen, prices may be down x%, but that means nothing if there are no properties that you're happy to buy available. Sellers are hardly going to be rushing to take a haircut.

-That the banks are still lending at the same rate they have been to date. People assume they're constrained by the 3.5x + exceptions, but they can give you less if they think thats the prudent thing to do in the circumstances. They're not obliged to give you 3.5x. They're not obliged to give you anything.

awec

mees2020 wrote: »

A lot of people keep repeating it as mantra on this thread that "If you are buying for a long term, no point to wait for a price drop. In a long run house won't be a negative equity anyway, its better to get mortgage while you can, etc."

I completely disagree. Simple math:
You borrow from bank 300k at 3.2 interest for 30 years. Your monthly payment will be 1297 per month. The cost of credit will be 167k.

You wait for 6 months hoping that prices will drop. So in case of 20% drop you now need to borrow only 300-60=240k.
Same interest 3.2, almost same monthly payment even slightly less 1267eur and you are mortgage free in 22 years (8 earlier) and cost of credit 94k (73k less to greedy banks).

So you have waited for 6 months. It's not that long when you are buying a house. But you save yourself tons of money and 8 years of mortgage. Less chance for negative equity as well.

I am planning to buy.I have a solid deposit and have a well paid job not affected by C19. I am not even considering buying now. Not until its clear where is the bottom line. Even if I loose extra 10k-15k paying rent, it still worth it.

You are making the assumption you'll be able to buy the house you want, at the price you want, with the rates that you want. You are assuming that just because your own personal circumstances are unaffected, that you will still get credit. While you may be right, you may also be wrong, it's not a guarantee like you are insinuating.

On a side note, it doesn't make sense to calculate the cost of credit over the entire term like you are doing. You have no idea whatsoever what interest rates will look like 5 years from now. You have no idea what inflation will be like over the entire term.

Most important factors:

- Suitability of property for long term needs
- Ability to afford monthly repayments at stressed rates

hometruths

mees2020 wrote: »

A lot of people keep repeating it as mantra on this thread that "If you are buying for a long term, no point to wait for a price drop. In a long run house won't be a negative equity anyway, its better to get mortgage while you can, etc."

I completely disagree. Simple math:
You borrow from bank 300k at 3.2 interest for 30 years. Your monthly payment will be 1297 per month. The cost of credit will be 167k.

You wait for 6 months hoping that prices will drop. So in case of 20% drop you now need to borrow only 300-60=240k.
Same interest 3.2, almost same monthly payment even slightly less 1267eur and you are mortgage free in 22 years (8 earlier) and cost of credit 94k (73k less to greedy banks).

So you have waited for 6 months. It's not that long when you are buying a house. But you save yourself tons of money and 8 years of mortgage. Less chance for negative equity as well.

I am planning to buy.I have a solid deposit and have a well paid job not affected by C19. I am not even considering buying now. Not until its clear where is the bottom line. Even if I loose extra 10k-15k paying rent, it still worth it.

I'm assuming you're looking in the 300-350k range? Is there anything on the market at the minute that you would like to buy (assuming prices don't drop).

hometruths

SozBbz wrote: »

Based on whatever low number of transactions happen, prices may be down x%, but that means nothing if there are no properties that you're happy to buy available. Sellers are hardly going to be rushing to take a haircut.

I've always thought this makes sense in theory, but in practice it ignores the buyer side of the equation. For example:

A seller puts his desirable turnkey house up with asking price €500k today, which is fair value for the street given an identical one sold for €525k in December 2019, after a bidding war from €500k asking price.

Seller feels €500k is his bottom line, after all he's in no rush to take a haircut. He can afford to wait, after all supply is tight, most of the rest of the stuff on the market are the dregs etc etc.

So far, all makes sense and it is easy to understand the sellers psychology.

But the market is changed now, demand has tightened as well, and there is only one bidder who has been reading KBCs reports, market expected to fall etc, and is standing firm on his top offer of €450k, 10% below asking. He feels if there is no other bidder why should he bid higher, he is not an FTBer, so is no rush to move, he can afford to wait.

All makes sense and it is easy to understand the buyers psychology.

But we have unbreakable stalemate, even though both are completely rational actors.

In your opinion who blinks first and why? Or should they meet in the middle at €475k so they can both get on with their lives?

1sttimebuyer20

I’ve had an estate agent for new build I previously register an interest in call to advise they will be open for private viewings in the coming weeks. I should book now and if possible get everything in order as demand is out the door.

I have my tent ready to pitch outside the show house 🀔

awec

schmittel wrote: »

I've always thought this makes sense in theory, but in practice it ignores the buyer side of the equation. For example:

A seller puts his desirable turnkey house up with asking price €500k today, which is fair value for the street given an identical one sold for €525k in December 2019, after a bidding war from €500k asking price.

Seller feels €500k is his bottom line, after all he's in no rush to take a haircut. He can afford to wait, after all supply is tight, most of the rest of the stuff on the market are the dregs etc etc.

So far, all makes sense and it is easy to understand the sellers psychology.

But the market is changed now, demand has tightened as well, and there is only one bidder who has been reading KBCs reports, market expected to fall etc, and is standing firm on his top offer of €450k, 10% below asking. He feels if there is no other bidder why should he bid higher, he is not an FTBer, so is no rush to move, he can afford to wait.

All makes sense and it is easy to understand the buyers psychology.

But we have unbreakable stalemate, even though both are completely rational actors.

In your opinion who blinks first and why? Or should they meet in the middle at €475k so they can both get on with their lives?

Good question.

I think, since most sellers are also buyers, the seller might be inclined to accept a lower bid if they can get their seller to accept a lower bid on the house they're buying, and so on and so on.

On the other hand, if the buyer finds that there is very limited stock in the area he is looking for, he may be inclined to up his bid if the seller plays hard ball.

I think in general it will vary. In general, people in nice houses in nice areas will hold out much longer, and buyers will be waiting for their drops. In other areas buyers might have good fortune faster.

I realise this doesn't answer your question though!

Durtburd

awec wrote: »

On a side note, it doesn't make sense to calculate the cost of credit over the entire term like you are doing. You have no idea whatsoever what interest rates will look like 5 years from now. You have no idea what inflation will be like over the entire term.

I would disagree with this. Changes to interest rates and inflation are going to happen either way. It most certainly makes sense to try and get the best deal possible from the start. It's obviously impossible to put an exact figure on the cost of the mortgage due to the factors you've mentioned - but it is good to have some kind of a guide...

SozBbz

schmittel wrote: »

In your opinion who blinks first and why? Or should they meet in the middle at €475k so they can both get on with their lives?

Couldnt possibly say. There will be individual cases that go either way, you can only make any sort of analysis when you have a significant number of data points, but my gut would tell me that whatever the outcome, the proecss would be signficantly slowed.

The buyer would want to be prepared to hold firm, for months perhaps - so that would have to suit their circumstances. I really don't think anyone who's not under pressure to sell would take a pricecut until September at the earliest (ie, nothings happening now, nothing ever happens during the summer months and its almost the summer already).

Individual scenarios will always depend on the motivations of the individuals involved.

Does the buyer have a baby on the way and want the move done and dusted before baby arrives? Similarly motivated by a job or getting children into school in a particular area. Are they 35 and facing a reduced term based on the retirement age according to the banks if they don't buy relativly soon?

Does the seller have a house in mind that they want to buy that they think they could now also get for a better price? Do they need to free up equity to fund another investment of life goal? Are they in ill health and need to move to a property with better accessibility?

Equally there are scenarios for both buyer and seller that mean both can play the long game.

Etc etc.... buying and selling of homes is a very personal thing and is driven by all sorts of factors.

If theres a stalemate then really the buyer should keep looking and the seller may decide to stay put or sell to someone else at a later point - neither party can force the others hand.

SozBbz

Durtburd wrote: »

I would disagree with this. Changes to interest rates and inflation are going to happen either way. It most certainly makes sense to try and get the best deal possible from the start. It's obviously impossible to put an exact figure on the cost of the mortgage due to the factors you've mentioned - but it is good to have some kind of a guide...

Sure, try to get the best deal (everyone always does this by the way) but you have to accept that if you choose to wait, you cant control all the other variables which impact on affordability.

awec

Durtburd wrote: »

I would disagree with this. Changes to interest rates and inflation are going to happen either way. It most certainly makes sense to try and get the best deal possible from the start. It's obviously impossible to put an exact figure on the cost of the mortgage due to the factors you've mentioned - but it is good to have some kind of a guide...

It's not even a guide, it's a pretty worthless number. Not even banks do this when they figure out your ability to repay because it's just bad data.

Interest rates could be triple what they are now in 5 years. Or they could be half what they are now. In 20 years interest rates could be 20 times what they are now. This isn't even accounting for inflation.

I'm not talking about getting the best deal, I'm just talking in general. "This mortgage will cost me x euro over 30 years" is impossible. You may as well just put a random number in.

The total term cost should not be used as a major factor. The monthly cost, based around current interest rates for the relatively near future is the only reasonably accurate affordability indicator that exists. If you want to compare interest payable, then compare it over the next ~5 years, anything beyond that is total fluff.

Shelga

I think this narrative that we're all just dying to escape Dublin is very misleading, that as soon as you have children you'll just be yearning for a house in Wexford and you'll spend your time totting up all those extra square metres and how much per month you're saving on a mortgage.

I'm from Dublin, I lived outside of Ireland for several years, and now I've no desire to live anywhere else. My friends and family are here, and I think it's a great city with so much going on. Tired of all the negativity around it. If you hate the place, reskill to get a job you can do in Ballyarseholeofnowhere. Buy a farm. Just stop whingeing.

I really, really don't care that houses here are twice/three times the price of regional towns, because where I live is about far more than money. If I have kids, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'll want to raise them in Dublin. A large proportion of the country were born and raised in or near Dublin too (I'd say around a third?) and would have very similar thoughts to me.

I'd like to increase the amount of WFH I do too, but I still want to live in Dublin.

SozBbz

Shelga wrote: »

I think this narrative that we're all just dying to escape Dublin is very misleading, that as soon as you have children you'll just be yearning for a house in Wexford and you'll spend your time totting up all those extra square metres and how much per month you're saving on a mortgage.

I'm from Dublin, I lived outside of Ireland for several years, and now I've no desire to live anywhere else. My friends and family are here, and I think it's a great city with so much going on. Tired of all the negativity around it. If you hate the place, reskill to get a job you can do in Ballyarseholeofnowhere. Buy a farm. Just stop whingeing.

I really, really don't care that houses here are twice/three times the price of regional towns, because where I live is about far more than money. If I have kids, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'll want to raise them in Dublin. A large proportion of the country were born and raised in or near Dublin too (I'd say around a third?) and would have very similar thoughts to me.

I'd like to increase the amount of WFH I do too, but I still want to live in Dublin.

This is exactly how I feel.

I'd love a little cottage in Wexford but it would be a holiday home for me. I love Dublin and hate the "its a kip" rhetoric that people come out with, its lazy and just plain wrong.

In fact, the development where my duplex is a number of my old neighbours have properties there as their foothold in Dublin. Many spend significant amount of time elsewhere, either down the country or abroad, but still value a low maintenance option in Dublin for either social or professional reasons.

GreeBo

awec wrote: »

You are making the assumption you'll be able to buy the house you want, at the price you want, with the rates that you want. You are assuming that just because your own personal circumstances are unaffected, that you will still get credit. While you may be right, you may also be wrong, it's not a guarantee like you are insinuating.

On a side note, it doesn't make sense to calculate the cost of credit over the entire term like you are doing. You have no idea whatsoever what interest rates will look like 5 years from now. You have no idea what inflation will be like over the entire term.

Most important factors:

- Suitability of property for long term needs
- Ability to afford monthly repayments at stressed rates

SozBbz wrote: »

Groundhog day.

Ignores 2 massive variables that are beyond your control.

-Based on whatever low number of transactions happen, prices may be down x%, but that means nothing if there are no properties that you're happy to buy available. Sellers are hardly going to be rushing to take a haircut.

-That the banks are still lending at the same rate they have been to date. People assume they're constrained by the 3.5x + exceptions, but they can give you less if they think thats the prudent thing to do in the circumstances. They're not obliged to give you 3.5x. They're not obliged to give you anything.

Not to mention that it relies on the prices actually dropping...

Durtburd

SozBbz wrote: »

Sure, try to get the best deal (everyone always does this by the way) but you have to accept that if you choose to wait, you cant control all the other variables which impact on affordability.

You generally can't control these anyway. The factors you can control (excluding decisions around employment and family size) are

The price you pay the seller
The amount you borrow (I.e. how much of a deposit you put down)
The term of your mortgage and introductory rates, fixed v variable etc
The amount you pay into the mortgage each month, either reducing or extending the term (and the amount of interest you pay, respectively)

SNIP
Perhaps I've misunderstood the first post. I'm flying through the thread as I'm at work. I believe it's a somewhat useful figure. Interest rates have been fairly stagnant for about 10 years now and inflation has been relatively stable also. Of course these can change...

Snow Garden

mees2020 wrote: »

A lot of people keep repeating it as mantra on this thread that "If you are buying for a long term, no point to wait for a price drop. In a long run house won't be a negative equity anyway, its better to get mortgage while you can, etc."

I completely disagree. Simple math:
You borrow from bank 300k at 3.2 interest for 30 years. Your monthly payment will be 1297 per month. The cost of credit will be 167k.

You wait for 6 months hoping that prices will drop. So in case of 20% drop you now need to borrow only 300-60=240k.
Same interest 3.2, almost same monthly payment even slightly less 1267eur and you are mortgage free in 22 years (8 earlier) and cost of credit 94k (73k less to greedy banks).

So you have waited for 6 months. It's not that long when you are buying a house. But you save yourself tons of money and 8 years of mortgage. Less chance for negative equity as well.

I am planning to buy.I have a solid deposit and have a well paid job not affected by C19. I am not even considering buying now. Not until its clear where is the bottom line. Even if I loose extra 10k-15k paying rent, it still worth it.

You might need to wait a couple of years for the low point but there is a very high probability that you are making the correct decision. The housing market will be distorted/broken for the rest of 2020 as governments/employers/banks/people get their heads around the Covid19 impact. After that I expect 2 years of sharp price reductions, especially in Dublin.

SozBbz

Durtburd wrote: »

You generally can't control these anyway. The factors you can control (excluding decisions around employment and family size) are

The price you pay the seller
The amount you borrow (I.e. how much of a deposit you put down)
The term of your mortgage and introductory rates, fixed v variable etc
The amount you pay into the mortgage each month, either reducing or extending the term (and the amount of interest you pay, respectively)

Rate changes and inflation are out of our hands and are going to happen either way. Discouraging waiting for a better purchase price because of these doesn't make sense. If you time it right you can save a fortune. Time it wrong and you cost yourself a fortune. It's a big factor

Obviously - but posters on this thread are consistently making declarations about how they're going to wait and get mega bargains, at the same time expecting all of the factors outside their control to remain the same as they have been for the past number of years.

GreeBo

Durtburd wrote: »

You generally can't control these anyway. The factors you can control (excluding decisions around employment and family size) are

The price you pay the seller
The amount you borrow (I.e. how much of a deposit you put down)
The term of your mortgage and introductory rates, fixed v variable etc
The amount you pay into the mortgage each month, either reducing or extending the term (and the amount of interest you pay, respectively)

Rate changes and inflation are out of our hands and are going to happen either way. Discouraging waiting for a better purchase price because of these doesn't make sense. If you time it right you can save a fortune. Time it wrong and you cost yourself a fortune. It's a big factor

You can only control those things *now*.
Thats the key, you can guess what will happen in the future but right now is the only time you have all the info to determine the affordabilty and suitability of a purchase.

Durtburd

SozBbz wrote: »

Obviously - but posters on this thread are consistently making declarations about how they're going to wait and get mega bargains, at the same time expecting all of the factors outside their control to remain the same as they have been for the past number of years.

Edited my post.

Perhaps this is due to relative stability seen over the last 10 years. Many young FTBers may not be aware of some outside influences that can hurt them in the future.

Donald Trump

Shelga wrote: »

I think this narrative that we're all just dying to escape Dublin is very misleading, that as soon as you have children you'll just be yearning for a house in Wexford and you'll spend your time totting up all those extra square metres and how much per month you're saving on a mortgage.

I'm from Dublin, I lived outside of Ireland for several years, and now I've no desire to live anywhere else. My friends and family are here, and I think it's a great city with so much going on. Tired of all the negativity around it. If you hate the place, reskill to get a job you can do in Ballyarseholeofnowhere. Buy a farm. Just stop whingeing.

I really, really don't care that houses here are twice/three times the price of regional towns, because where I live is about far more than money. If I have kids, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'll want to raise them in Dublin. A large proportion of the country were born and raised in or near Dublin too (I'd say around a third?) and would have very similar thoughts to me.

I'd like to increase the amount of WFH I do too, but I still want to live in Dublin.

Who is whinging? Your stated preference is to live where you grew up, where your family and friends are.


Yet you lived abroad. Presumably you went away from home for work reasons? Or perhaps the experience or at least the change. And then your preference was to return to where you considered to be your "home". We'll assume that you came home willingly and weren't deported, and that you didn't necessarily consider your foreign location "a kip".


Given all that, then why the condescension for someone from Wexford or Mullingar etc. who might have the temerity to suggest that they would have a preference to move to their home? They might be currently in Dublin for the same reasons that you went abroad. And if conditions now allow them to return to live where they consider home, what is the difference to what you did?

Durtburd

Shelga wrote: »

If I have kids, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'll want to raise them in Dublin.

Many a man and woman have said this before you and changed their minds 5/10/15 years later. Saying "when I have kids I'll do this and I'll do that" is all well and good. When the time comes, you may well think very differently and have different priorities.

Shelga

Donald Trump wrote: »

Who is whinging? Your stated preference is to live where you grew up, where your family and friends are.


Yet you lived abroad. Presumably you went away from home for work reasons? Or perhaps the experience or at least the change. And then your preference was to return to where you considered to be your "home". We'll assume that you came home willingly and weren't deported, and that you didn't necessarily consider your foreign location "a kip".


Given all that, then why the condescension for someone from Wexford or Mullingar etc. who might have the temerity to suggest that they would have a preference to move to their home? They might be currently in Dublin for the same reasons that you went abroad. And if conditions now allow them to return to live where they consider home, what is the difference to what you did?

It's not condescension towards people from rural areas- of course I understand wanting to live near your family, in the area you grew up in.

It's frustration at hearing people on this forum talk over and over again like they have no control over their own lives. No one is making a person live in Dublin for years/decades if they hate it so much. Is it harder to have a decent career in Mullingar? Sure. Is it impossible? No. If living in your home town is the main priority in your life, then change career to make it happen. Open a cafe, start a business. Bring some entrepreneurial spirit to the place you love so much, rather than waiting indefinitely for external factors to change.

I'm currently changing career myself- it's not easy but it aligns with my long-term lifestyle goals. I just find endless negativity about Dublin so draining and boring, tbh. And yeah, I made the most of the place I lived in abroad and found the positives, rather than bleating endlessly about how it was expensive and a kip (it wasn't).

Shelga

Durtburd wrote: »

Many a man and woman have said this before you and changed their minds 5/10/15 years later. Saying "when I have kids I'll do this and I'll do that" is all well and good. When the time comes, you may well think very differently and have different priorities.

I personally can't foresee any reason why living away from Dublin, away from all of my family and friends and the place I love, will be better, but ok.

hometruths

awec wrote: »

Good question.

I think, since most sellers are also buyers, the seller might be inclined to accept a lower bid if they can get their seller to accept a lower bid on the house they're buying, and so on and so on.

On the other hand, if the buyer finds that there is very limited stock in the area he is looking for, he may be inclined to up his bid if the seller plays hard ball.

I think in general it will vary. In general, people in nice houses in nice areas will hold out much longer, and buyers will be waiting for their drops. In other areas buyers might have good fortune faster.

I realise this doesn't answer your question though!

All others things being equal in a rising market the buyer blinks first and vice versa, the stalemate marks the turning point. But all other things are rarely equal.

There is no right answer obviously but I think you hit the nail on the head re most sellers are also buyers. That's what doesn't add up to me about the current supply/demand claims.

Supply side we're told that prices won't drop because sellers won't sell - they will simply hold out for prices to recover. Even if that means putting their lives on hold.

Demand side we're told that prices won't drop because buyers don't want to wait to get a better deal, they don't want to put their lives on hold. Even if that means paying higher prices.

This is the theory.

But as you've pointed out, most sellers are buyers and vice versa. For the above theory to work in practice too much is being weighted onto FTBers and executor sales.

That's why I am confused.

hometruths

Shelga wrote: »

It's not condescension towards people from rural areas- of course I understand wanting to live near your family, in the area you grew up in.

It's frustration at hearing people on this forum talk over and over again like they have no control over their own lives. No one is making a person live in Dublin for years/decades if they hate it so much. Is it harder to have a decent career in Mullingar? Sure. Is it impossible? No. If living in your home town is the main priority in your life, then change career to make it happen. Open a cafe, start a business. Bring some entrepreneurial spirit to the place you love so much, rather than waiting indefinitely for external factors to change.

I'm currently changing career myself- it's not easy but it aligns with my long-term lifestyle goals. I just find endless negativity about Dublin so draining and boring, tbh. And yeah, I made the most of the place I lived in abroad and found the positives, rather than bleating endlessly about how it was expensive and a kip (it wasn't).

Nobody as far as I can see is saying Dublin is a kip and everybody is dying to leave it, as soon as they're able they're about to leave in their droves.

If money was no object I suspect most people would like to live in Dublin. If I didn't have to worry about the bills I'd be in a detached period house with sea frontage in Dalkey, but sadly real life got in the way.

And real life looks like changing work practices so an increasing number of people will be able to WFH.

It is inevitable that some of them will weigh up the costs and benefits to live in the capital, and decide not to.

And whilst maybe you weren't bleating endlessly about how it was expensive in the place you lived abroad, did you complain about how expensive Dublin was when you came back?!

Empty_Space

Hubertj wrote: »

that's a lovely outlook.... happy to see other peoples' misfortune. Really worthwhile contribution.

Such a silly attitude. We need properties to get back to normal prizes. It will do a hell of a lot more people good then it will do bad.

hometruths

Empty_Space wrote: »

Such a silly attitude. We need properties to get back to normal prizes. It will do a hell of a lot more people good then it will do bad.

Freudian slip?! You'll get burnt for that. But I agree with you 100%.