It has been a crazy year for buyers. Demand and supply remain hopelessly out of sync, and the Covid-19 lockdowns really pushed competitive bidding.
For those who have been trying to buy, it has felt like a house-hunter’s version of musical chairs. Homes that have come to market at one price sometimes go sale agreed or go off the market only to return with a different agent the second time around – and often at a higher asking price.
But are these newly elevated asking prices due to agents trying to do the best for their vendors or do they show the bald economics of a supply-hit market?
One house in Fairview in Dublin was brought to market for €375,000 before being deactivated last December. The end-of-terrace was relisted for €425,000 on September 27th. That's an increase of almost 12%
The residential property price index found that house prices in Dublin rose 8.1 per cent in the past 12 months, and agents are factoring this into their new pricing.
For example, in Fairview, Dublin 3, 11 Cadogan Road is a doer-upper that was brought to market by O’Connor Shannon for €375,000 before being deactivated last December. The end-of-terrace house was relisted by DNG Fairview for €425,000 on September 27th. That’s an increase of almost 12 per cent.
Number 17 Highland View, at the Park in Cabinteely, Dublin 18, is a three-bed semi-detached property that was delisted by DNG Stillorgan at €495,000 on May 20th, 2020, and returned to the market asking €525,000 through Quillsen Dún Laoghaire on August 30th. This is an increase of almost 6 per cent on last year’s asking price and compares favourably with the index, which showed price rises in south Dublin of 11.2 per cent.
In Rathfarnham, Dublin 16, 5 The Court in Scholarstown Wood sold in 2017 for €584,999 as a new-build. It was listed at €590,000 last year through DNG Rathfarnham and returned to the market last month through Mullery O’Gara with an asking price of €645,000. This is an increase of almost 9 per cent. The house has gone sale agreed for just over its asking price.
In homes that go sale agreed but then fall through, some agents take the level of interest, and indeed the final bid, as the new potential value of the home. For example, four years ago 16 Shelbourne Road in Dublin 4 was listed at €695,000 through Quillsen Ballsbridge.
Not all prices are going up. In Dublin 6, a house that had been asking €650,00 when it was delisted, in June 2020, returned to the market asking €575,000 in February, a drop of about 11.5%
“There was lots of interest in it, and there was loads of competitive bidding on it at the time. It was sale agreed at around the price that it is now back on the market at,” explains its then selling agent, Marian McQuillan. Its current asking price of €875,000, through PJ Dwyer & Co, is a 30 per cent increase on that original price.
Not all prices are going up, though. It may bring some cheer to buyers to finally see some price reductions popping into their feeds. In Terenure, Dublin 6, 59 Terenure Road North, a pre-63 set out in three units, had been asking €650,00 when it was delisted on June 15th, 2020. It returned to the market asking €575,000 last February through the same agent, O’Connor Shannon. This is about 11.5 per cent less than the original asking price.
Across the city in Dublin 4, Bushfield Villa on Bushfield Terrace in Donnybrook was delisted on May 25th this year when its asking price was €695,000 through DNG Donnybrook. It returned to the market asking €595,000 through Allen & Jacobs on June 23rd this year; that was 14 per cent below the previous asking price, and it is now sale agreed at around the lower price.
