Softening house market?

I can tell you not everybody was so forunate. And the drops are very large in many cases.

I do think the market will sustain high prices , just due to the massive lack of housing (for rent) and high wages of IT in particular. And probably the government which is buying at least 1/4 houses in desperation. Thats about it.

There is NOT a lack of houses for sale though. So the whole situation is very odd and unusual.

Time well spent!

And yet somehow boardsies aren't half as bad as the perma-bear cranks* of ThePropertyPin

(*=paraphrasing some other poster's description)

RTE or the CSO say the rate of growth is slowing !

Well arent they sorting Italy out by buying up their debt, I could see them doing the same in order to stop the country from defaulting.

The "softening", used as the industry pig lipstick term, has happened and it will look like it will continue for a sustained period. Then SF will get into power and something will happen (2024 at the moment is the year where the central banks and markets are predicting huge uncertainty at the moment, which will coincide with our next election) which further "softens" the market, then SF will get blamed. FF/FG will capitalise on this and the goldfish-memoried electorate will reconsider them as options to vote for in 2028/29; rince and repeat.

It is just phenomenal that the State has inflated the property bubble once again with all its schemes pushing money into property owners' pockets. 53% of tenancies get some sort of State (incl. charity) assistance and people somehow think the "growth" in the market the last few years is sustainable. Take the State out of the equation and prices correct materially (20-40% I think), but with the Exchequer now needing to cut spending and raise taxes as well as redirecting spending to areas of the economy that need it more, it is quite clear the State won't have the same ability to direct cash to the property market for much longer.

Less whale activity by the State in the rental market = less ability for renters to pay the high rents = lower rents = lower yields = lower property prices.

...looks like the Germans (at least) are somewhat baulking at intervening.

Germany’s finance minister has challenged the European Central Bank over the spectre of bond market fragmentation in the eurozone, saying he did not see particular hazards in current market conditions. Christian Lindner told the ECB’s president in a closed-door session that he was not worried by recent moves in spreads between bond yields in the euro area, and that talking about fragmentation in the bloc’s financial markets could damage confidence, according to people familiar with the discussion. His words came after the ECB held an emergency meeting on Wednesday in which its governing council pledged to accelerate plans to create a “new anti-fragmentation instrument” — a reference to the widening gap in the cost of borrowing between more stable sovereigns such as Germany and more vulnerable member states such as Italy. The unscheduled ECB meeting came after bond yields of countries such as Italy and Spain shot up to their highest level for eight years in the wake of a decision by ECB rate-setters last Thursday to stop buying more bonds and start raising interest rates.

https://www.ft.com/content/aa61c9a3-a76e-4124-bb47-416033b4e384

Because if they don't and the economies collapse, then the EU project will be questioned as populism will fester in a stale economic environment. The next decade will be a real test of the EU project.

Talking to a friend selling a house- a real stunning gem of a house, asking price circa €400k. Had 8 viewers so far, not one bid yet…

It might be too soon, but I thought for this house as it’s quite unique they’d be biting his hand off for it.

I wonder are the interest rate rises and job worries starting to bite?

I think consumer sentiment is in the dog heap tbh and likely not to get better anytime soon. I'd say many people are in the wait-and-see line of thinking, as what's happening worldwide regarding interest rates is kind of unprecedented and of course, the mood music out of the US is pretty bad.

That will make people wary of taking on lots of debt when there is so much uncertainty and with prices are quite high. People who are not in a rush may well think that prices will be cheaper next year as well.

Interesting point. There may well be many people out there whose house deposits were shares/investments or god forbid Crypto.

It's no coincidence that house prices boomed when the share market went gangbusters the past two years, now that is in a big reversal, meaning people may not have the cash to go over asking as they did before, or even meet the deposit requirements. Its all in the mix and it will wash out eventually.

Also, as soon as we get real-world data that says, house prices have stopped growing or even if there is the slightest decline, there may be a rush of people who may want to sell at the top of the market.