Plenty of houses for sale in Dublin below €220k

[newirishman]

But you can't buy a house in Dublin for that, and that's where houses are mostly needed.

At this moment, there are 863 properties for sale on daft.ie in Dublin (Dublin City Centre, North Co. Dublin, North Dublin City, South Co. Dublin, South Dublin City or West Co. Dublin) for less than 225,000 euro. The first few in my search are Semi-detached 3 bed houses in Dublin 15.

What again?

 

[Sarenco]

But you can't buy a house in Dublin for that, and that's where houses are mostly needed.

I just did a search on MyHome.ie and there are currently 403 houses (not apartments) for sale in Dublin with asking prices of €220 or lower.

The median asking price for a 3-bed semi in Dublin (per MyHome.ie) is currently €285k. Per the new Central Bank rules a FTB would require a minimum deposit of just over 12% at that level.

If the mortgage rules were relaxed you would expect prospective purchasers to simply bid up prices with increased levels of debt. It wouldn't actually solve anything for FTBs.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

These posts got lost in another thread, and I think it's a very important point.

The more typical argument is

"In Dublin, the average price of a family home is €400,000 (source MyHome.ie). The Central Bank rules mean that someone must accumulate a deposit of €80,000, and have income of €91,000."

But people buying their first home should not expect to be buying an average family home.

Brendan

 

[Brendan Burgess]

I have just checked DAFT today, and there are 695 houses and apartments in Dublin for sale under €225k.

I presume that some of these are old listings which are no longer for sale?

There are 430 houses and apartments listed within the last 90 days. Would that be a fair estimate of what is genuinely for sale?

Brendan

 

[odyssey06]

How many of them are apartments? What % is that of the total number for sale in Dublin?
Given the price range, out of 430, that would mean maybe at most 200 are houses - some of which are almost certainly fixer uppers.
In a city of 1 million, I don't think that constitutes plenty.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Here are the average asking prices in Dublin according to the DAFT.ie Q2 2016 report:


So there are plenty of houses available in North County, North City, City Centre and West County at the €220k price point.

The Central Bank limits might prevent a first time buyer from buying in the South City or South County, but so what?

Brendan

 

[peteb]

Because maybe they would like to live in South City or South Country Brendan. Most of us like to live where we grew up and whilst it isn't always possible it shouldnt just be dismissed like that out of hand.

Must be a generational thing going back to when people thought they had it much harder in the 70/80's with ridiculously large interest rates.

 

[thedaddyman]

There are a couple of other key points that are being missed in this debate.

Firstly a lot of people are reluctant to buy apartments for 3 reasons,

• legacy quality of build issues (Priory Hall for example),
• what happened people who 10 years ago bought apartments to get on the housing ladders and ended up marooned in negative equity
• many apartments are not suitable for family living. You can't simply assume that a first time buyer is a single or married person with no kids

Secondly, the prices quote on Daft or Myhome are not accurate enough for making an analysis of a serious subject like this. A better figure to use would be the price properties sold for. Does anyone know how many houses under €220k were sold in Dublin this year?

Thirdly and re location, the solution is not as simple as you seem to indicate- move to the North side. If you work in Sandyford, buying a house in Swords may not be an option or will require either a significant commuting time and cost and/or an additional expense in buying a car.

 

[trasneoir]

If you work in Sandyford, buying a house in Swords may not be an option

maybe they would like to live in South City or South Country

We're talking about the most "desirable" region in the country, where prices are inflated by competition among people with deep pockets who are prepared to pay a huge premium.
What's the marco benefit of encouraging more competition from buyers who can't afford them, but are prepared to take a punt?

It's a reality of urban life that everybody doesn't get to live (let alone buy) exactly where they would like, and all the credit in the world isn't going to change that.

 

[peteb]

No but it still doesn't mean that Brendan gets to dismiss that fact that people want to. In the same vein, Brendan, I'm one of those near 40 year olds that wouldnt have 40k saved in a bank account that you dismissed on the The Right Hook or Last Word the other evening.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

No but it still doesn't mean that Brendan gets to dismiss that fact that people want to.

Hi Pete

I don't get this at all. As trasneoir pointed out, everyone can't live in Sandyford. Most people are prepared to get a starter home which does not satisfy 100% of their needs. They trade up after a while. Many people today want the perfect house and they want it now. And they don't want to tailor their lifestyle to save for a deposit.

I'm one of those near 40 year olds that wouldnt have 40k saved in a bank account that you dismissed on the The Right Hook or Last Word the other evening.

The guy was 40 , in a well paid job living in the South East and he did not have the 10% deposit required to buy a house.
I generously put the cost of a house in the South East at €200k and wondered why he did not have the €20k required.

In reality, a single guy could buy an apartment or small house in the South East for a lot less than €200k and the lender might make him one of the 15% exceptions.

If he or you have no savings at age 40, then you can't afford the repayments on a house. Allowing reckless lending and reckless borrowing will make matters worse for you.

By the way, I have been the biggest advocate of relaxing the rule that mortgages should be paid off by retirement. Which would be of great help to 40 year olds who have not yet saved the deposit.

Brendan