Slight Fall In Dublin House Prices – A Sign Of Things To Come Or A Brexit Blip?
The Central Statistics Office say that house prices in Dublin have fallen by 0.2% up to July this year.
Some 6,425 (new home) properties were bought, a drop of 6% on 2018. Of those, 4,434 were bought by householders and 1991 by ‘cuckoo funds’, local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies – that’s 1 in six of all new homes.
Cuckoo funds are so called because they snap up large blocks of new housing, squeezing out the household buyer. Typically they buy to rent in sought after areas and will charge top market rent. Local Authorities and AHB’s buy for social housing.
According to Dermot O’Leary of Goodbody Stockbrokers ‘household’ buyers are down so far in 2019 by 6% while ‘non-household’ purchases were up by a huge 60%.
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The Banking and Payments Federation warned that people on low and middle incomes are effectively out of the housing market. Most people now need over €80,000 to be approved for a mortgage.
In a tight mortgage market, banks are risk averse and favour those in Government employment and the professions.
The Central Bank report a 75% rise in repossessions, up from 127 to 221 in the April to June quarter.
The Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy insists that the housing crisis will be solved by the May 2020 General Election.