Laois house prices buck national trend

A new report shows prices in Laois increased by an average €1,000 in the last three months as supply reduced.

Property prices in Laois have bucked the national trend by rising during the last quarter, according to the latest MyHome.ie Property Price Report.

The report for Q1 2023, in association with Davy, shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is now €199,000. This means prices have risen by €14,000 when  compared with this time last year.

Asking prices for a three bed semi-detached house in the county rose by €2,500 over the quarter to €192,500. This means that prices in the segment have risen by €12,500 compared to this time last year.

Meanwhile, the asking price for a four bed semi-detached house in Laois rose by €2,000 over the quarter to €237,000. This price is up by €32,500 compared to this time last year.

There were 203 properties for sale in Laois at the end of Quarter 1 2023 – a decrease of three percent over the quarter.

The average time for a property to go sale agreed in the county after being placed up for sale now stands at just over two and a half months.

Nationally the picture was differed as there was an easing of prices. Author of the report, Chief Economist at Davy, Conall MacCoille said the data suggested that frothy pandemic-era valuations were now cooling off.

 “This quarter’s MyHome report shows another 0.3% fall in asking prices in Q1 2023. Prices fell especially sharply – by 0.8% – in Dublin but rose marginally by 0.2% in the rest of Ireland. We expect the 0.6% decline in the CSO’s RPPI measure of transaction prices in January will continue in the coming months.”

However, he said that Ireland’s property market was not in freefall and would likely fare better than the UK and US markets in the coming months.

“First, demand remains buoyant given the resilient performance of the Irish economy. Second, housing supply remains very constrained. Third, the European Central Bank is not expected to raise interest rates as aggressively as the Bank of England or Federal Reserve. Fourth, the surprise decision by the Central Bank of Ireland to loosen the mortgage lending rules will in time put upward pressure on house prices.” 

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Mr MacCoille added that the forecast for asking price inflation had been revised to 1.5 percent for 2023 – from four percent. “This small rise could quite possibly split between falls in the capital and modest price gains in the rest of Ireland. However, the outlook is very uncertain and small price falls can’t be ruled out.

“Why? Asking prices have clearly had a weak start to 2023. Also, the correction in stretched valuations in some areas looks to have further to run. However, as 2023 progresses the tight market, resilient economy and, crucially, the easing of the Central Bank’s mortgage lending rules should support Irish house prices.”

Managing Director of MyHome.ie, Joanne Geary said that housing supply was still the elephant in the room. “Unfortunately, stock levels are still a major concern. In an ideal scenario, we need approximately 50,000 new homes built every year, and we are running far short of that target at present.

“We know from our recent consumer sentiment survey that prospective homebuyers are feeling the pinch from the energy and cost of living crises, so now more than ever we need construction activity to ramp up to alleviate the build-up in pressure,” she said.