Second-hand house prices fall

Second-hand house prices fell in the first quarter of the year according to figures released yesterday. However, prices are still up 12.6 per cent on the same period last year.

The quarterly housing statistics bulletin from the Department of the Environment says the average second-hand house cost €274,274 in the three months to the end of March, down 1.3 per cent on the last quarter of 2003. But it is well ahead of the €243,604 average price for the first three months of last year.

New house prices have continued to rise, up just over 1 per cent on the previous quarter and 11.3 per cent on the year at €238,084.

Housebuilding costs, though outstripping inflation, are up only 3.1 per cent over the 12-month period.

In the capital, the quarterly fall in second-hand house prices was more dramatic at 2.7 per cent, the Department said, while there was a 2.3 per cent rise in the value of new homes. Prices in Dublin continue to be more than 30 per cent ahead of the national average.

The figures were disputed by estate agent Sherry FitzGerald. It said it had recorded a 4.1 per cent rise in the Dublin second-hand market in the first three months of the year and a 3.6 per cent rise for the State as a whole. It said this trend continued into the second quarter of the year.

The data bolsters recent housebuilding projections, recording a 22 per cent rise in the number of housing completions over the same period in 2003, a record year.

This was fuelled entirely by the private sector, where the number of completions was up 26 per cent. The number of local authority and voluntary/non-profit properties built declined on the first three months of 2003.

Economists at Davy this week forecast that 80,000 new homes would be built in 2004, up from the 69,000 high last year. In the first three months of the year, 16,721 properties were completed.

In terms of mortgage lending, the Department reports that loans totalling €4.52 billion were approved by lending institutions in the first three months of the year, up 31.6 per cent annually, with 23,741 loans applications being passed.

Forty-five per cent of loans approved related to new houses, though not necessarily first-time buyers. A total of €3.32 billion in loans was drawn down during the period, a third higher than the figure this time last year.

The growing consensus that interest rates are set to rise is reflected in the significant growth in the number of people opting for fixed rate mortgages, with 47.1 per cent of borrowers choosing this option compared with 34.9 per cent in the three months to March 2003.

Falling rents have seen a reduction in the number of private rented properties registered with the Department from 22,646 in March 2003 to 22,119.