Property market shows increased activity

There are hopes that renewed activity may be taking place in the property market after website MyHome.ie said the number of second-hand properties that were "sale agreed" in January rose significantly.

The property site, which is owned by The Irish Times, said the figures had increased threefold compared to a year earlier.

MyHome.ie said it had observed a consistent month-on-month increase in the numbers of "sale agreed" secondhand residential properties since September of last year, going against traditional trends in the selling cycle.

The increase is being seen as evidence of a pick up in the residential market. However, it is not known how many of these sales were completed.

MyHome.ie's managing director Angela Keegan said anecdotal evidence indicated estate agents were now insisting that paperwork, such as proof of mortgage approvals, was completed prior to a property being classed as sale agreed, in contrast to previous activity in the market.

The site said the number of properties that were "sale agreed" status in Dublin rose from just over 200 to 658 properties compared to January last year. A significant increase was also observed throughout Leinster, particularly in Kildare, Wicklow and Meath.

There are further encouraging signs this month, with February already showing twice as many sale agreed properties in Dublin compared to last year.

MyHome.ie also said activity on its website rose 20 per cent in January to almost 40 million page views, and a 50 per cent rise in the number of enquiries to estate agents through the website.

"It's encouraging that we're seeing consistently higher levels of activity on our website, as we believe it's an indication of a pick up in second hand house market throughout the country, and we're hopeful that this trend will continue," said Ms Keegan.

The economic downturn has had a severe impact on the property market. Recent data from the Irish Banking Federation’s mortgage market profile showed mortgage lending fell by almost 50 per cent last year. A total of 46,000 mortgages were issued in 2009, valued at around €8 billion.

Almost 10,000 new mortgages were issued in the fourth quarter of 2009, a decline of 18 per cent on the previous quarter, while the number of mortgages drawn down in 2009 declined by almost 60 per cent on the 2008 figures.