The property website www.daft.ie recently published its quarter 3 report for 2013. It would appear that a two tier property market is emerging, with rises in property prices seen in Dublin whilst there was falls in prices for the rest of the country. The daft report can be viewed here.

The report was prepared by Ronan Lyons, who is Daft’s in-house economist. He examines the possibility of a new bubble emerging in Dublin however he feels that these concerns are over stated. He says that property bubbles can only emerge with loose credit. The current crisis was caused by a number of factors and one of the main culprits was the lack of normal, reasonable lending rules which the bank industry should have adhered to, most notably Anglo Irish Bank now Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited.

It would appear that the increase in property prices in Dublin is not due to a bubble, but rather to a shortage of supply of family homes. There appears to be a large number of young couples, who have saved during the recession, and are now seeking to buy their first home. The majority of these couples are looking for a 3 or 4 bedroom house and as the stock of this type of house is low in Dublin, this has the effect of driving the price up. Supply is not meeting demand!

It will be interesting to see how the property market develops over the closing quarter of 2013 and if there will be any measures in Budget 2014 relating to property. The Government will probably avoid any measures in Budget 2014 that will be seen to stimulate the market, as alleged to have been done by the previous Government.

David Walley + Co Solicitors have acted for hundreds of buyers and sellers of property over the past 35 years. If you are thinking of buying or selling a property, please contact us and see how our experienced Conveyancing solicitors can help you.