Mayo house prices on the rise

THE latest Residential Property Price Barometer, which charts actual house prices achieved by auctioneers for the most common family home types, reveals price increases in the vast majority of the country, with the largest increases taking place in four-bedroom homes.

In Mayo, it found that in the latter six months of 2020, four-bedroom semi-detached homes increased by 3.81%, three-bedrooms were up 1.10% and two-bedroom apartments were up 3.81% over the previous six months.

Elsewhere, Galway city topped the list for four-bedroom homes with a 5.87% increase, followed by Donegal at 5.16%. In the three-bedroom category, Louth was top at 4.69%, followed by Kildare at 4.60% and for two-bedroom apartments, Waterford led the way with a 4.97%.

Pat Davitt, IPAV chief executive, said it’s likely that housing demand will keep prices elevated for the foreseeable future.

“Just over a year ago the Central Bank estimated we will need to build 34,000 new homes every year up to 2030. Latest CSO data shows the 2020 figure for new builds was 20,676. So demand will continue to outstrip supply for some time,” he said.

But supply is not our only problem, he said. “There is a huge issue around affordability, particularly for those on average wages of up to €45,000, many of whom, by paying high rents, have shown they can well afford to service a mortgage.”

However, they cannot get a mortgage because of Central Bank mortgage rules.