60% drop in number of houses for auction

Trends:There has been a 60 per cent drop in the number of houses going to auction in Dublin in the opening stages of the spring season compared to the same period last year.

A total of 27 auctions are set to take place in the greater Dublin area this month, compared to the 69 houses which were auctioned in February of last year.

This year's figures, however, are in line with figures from the three years in the run-up to 2006, when an average of 26 houses were put on the block in the month of February.

After the spike in 2006, when houses were achieving unprecedented prices in auction rooms, the number of auctions is now returning to pre-2006 figures - a clear sign that some of the froth has been take off the property market and that caution is winning out.

While auctions are only a small representation of the number of houses on the market, they provide a good indicator of the overall state of rest of the market.

Traditionally, only a small proportion of houses reached the auction room, typically 10 to 15 per cent of stock in Dublin. However, as house prices and confidence rose, more and more average homes were sold under the hammer.

"Every homeowner was hoping to get a few people into the auction room to get that bonus price," explains Keith Lowe, from Douglas Newman Good (DNG).

Auctioneers are becoming more selective about the properties they put up for auction, Lowe says. Now, only character houses and properties in very short supply will be put on the block. Lowe predicts that by the end of the year, auctions will be down by one third on last year.

Estate agent Felicity Fox agrees. Only properties "that tick all the boxes" should be saved for the auction room, she says.

Potential vendors are adopting a wait-and-see approach or are deciding not to sell at all. Only those who really have to sell are selling, she says.

Although auctions are down, there is no shortage of houses on the market.

DNG research indicates that, so far this year, there are three times more houses on the market in the greater Dublin area, compared to last year, Lowe says.

With property price increases at a more moderate level, he predicts single figure growth this year and says that it is a good time for ordinary buyers.