Waterford House Price Survey June 2020

The price of the average three-bed semi in County Waterford remained unchanged over the past year according to a national survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.

Despite fears of a downturn in the market during the Covid-19 crisis, the price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the county remained unchanged at €215,000 in Waterford City and €178,000 in Waterford County over the past three months.

“There is no evidence of a reduction in prices here and the market has been active since we came back two weeks ago,” said Des O’Shea of REA O’Shea O’Toole, Waterford City.

“Time will tell if this is pent up demand. Vendors are bringing houses to the market at the moment in the hope that they can get a good price for their properties.

“We are advising vendors to expect a delayed selling period because of the uncertainty in the market.”

The average time to sell rose by one week in the city this quarter to 13 weeks, and was unchanged at 12 weeks in the county. 

“Since our office reopened, we have experienced an exceptionally high level of requests for viewings in addition to receiving offers on a number of residential properties,” said Eamonn Spratt of REA Spratt, Dungarvan.

The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland's typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an accurate picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.

Across the country, despite fears of a downturn in the market due to lockdown, the price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house fell by just -0.15% over the past three months to €234,667, an annual decline of -0.56%. 

“Although sales slowed during the lockdown, they did happen and, despite fears, very few fell through or had to be renegotiated,” said REA spokesperson Barry McDonald.

“Changes in the world of work are having an immediate effect on the second-hand housing market with a nationwide trend emerging of buyers looking to move 15 minutes outside of their urban location where they can get more space for the same money.

“We are finding that people are looking for three things – more space, gardens and a guarantee of better broadband, where transport was previously the highest priority.

“While the current outlook is positive, and there seems to be a lot of pent-up demand, it may be Q3 before we see the effect of Covid-19 on the market and on the outcome of mortgage approvals granted before the lockdown.”