Cavan property prices flat in first quarter
Property prices in Cavan have bucked the national trend by staying flat during the first quarter of 2023, according to the latest MyHome.ie Property Price Report.
The report for the first three months of the year, in association with Davy, shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is still €199,000. This amounts to a €10,000 rise compared with this time last year.
Asking prices for a three-bed semi-detached house in the county fell by €5,000 over the quarter to €180,000 but that's still €5,000 ahead of this time last year.
Meanwhile, the asking price for a four-bed semi-detached house in Cavan stayed flat over the quarter at €210,000. This price is up by €13,000 compared to this time last year.
There were 224 properties for sale in County Cavan at the end of March 2023 – a decrease of 20% 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 nearly three and a half months.
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The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, chief economist at Davy, said the data suggested that frothy pandemic-era valuations are 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 is 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.”
Mr MacCoille added that the forecast for asking price inflation had been revised to 1.5% for 2023 – from 4%. “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.”
Supply
Joanne Geary, managing director of MyHome.ie, 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.”