Buying Property in Ireland is Getting Cheaper

The allure of Ireland - of the beautiful Emerald Isle - has long attracted expats in their droves as well as foreign property investors.  Unfortunately throughout the 1990s the allure was so strong that house prices in Ireland soared to legendary levels.  Homes that were priced at about 75,000 euros in the mid-1990s jumped to more than 300,000 euros in the early 2000s.  The long and the short of it is that this rapid increase has been phenomenal for real estate investors in Ireland who got in early, but it’s put a rather big burden on people who have wanted to buy property in Ireland for daily living.

The property boom climate however seems to be cooling off a little bit.  If you’re one of many would be expatriates hoping to live in Ireland and watching the Irish property market in wonder hoping to see a dip you’re in luck – buying property in Ireland is getting cheaper.

The Associated Press is reporting that prices seem to be on the decline and the Irish Economic and Social Research Institute has also issued a report stating that property prices dropped by an average of 3%.  In Dublin the prices have fallen nearly 4% so far - but don’t expect to find bargains in this city just yet, the average price of property in Dublin is still 411,069 euros.

In keeping with the overall trend of falling house prices in Ireland, new mortgage values are also down.

While the “average” property prices in Ireland are still quite high by a lot of standards, buyers here will find a rather interesting market situation right now.  It is quite possible to locate single-family homes for under 200,000 euros, this is especially the case when smaller villages are considered instead of the big cities.  Living in the Irish countryside is a dream come true for many, so this route into buying property in Ireland is not an outlandish one to pursue.

If you’re dreaming of retiring to Ireland or just buying a vacation house to let, now’s the time to watch the market very carefully.  It is possible housing prices will continue to fall as adjustments are made to what many believe are overvalued properties.  In some cases it is believed properties are overvalued by as much as 20%.

Should you desire to buy immediately, the trick is to do some serious shopping around.  You will find plenty of resale houses on the market in virtually every county within Ireland.  There are also a number of new construction projects where off plan purchases of houses and apartments are possible – just take a little time to see what’s out there, research the specific region you’re interested in and then test the water by putting in some offers. 

With any luck, prices will fall just enough to make buying real estate in Ireland within your reach without raising the investment value of the venture so high that the boom cycle starts all over again before you have a chance to buy in!

Buying Irish property has been a hot and expensive proposition for some time, but it seems that this is starting to change.  This market demands careful and close observation at this time by any who are interested in buying in.