For the record – I choose to correct you slightly – Estate Agents do not overprice homes – unfortunately VENDORS DO !

As a Chartered Surveyor / Estate Agent in Kerry , we just refuse to take on overpriced property , as it doesn’t ever sell and is valuable time wastage for us.

Of course it is a great time to buy now – prices have fallen between 50-60% from the illogical highs of 2006-2008.
We reckon values are now at 1998-2000 levels.
Therefore if one can get the mortgage – it’s not rocket science to see that homes are "a buy " now!

Estate agents do overprice houses. Vendors retain estate agents and pay them 2.5+% and are advised by the estate agents what price to put on a house, and then whether or not to accept a bid.

Why else would one house on Donore Ave D8 be €450,000 (http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=590499) and then another 4 houses down be less than €250,000 (http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/94-donore-avenue-south-circular-road-dublin-8/421493)

Also 4 bed victorian houses in harolds cross with similar or lower asking prices than 3 beds in Kilmainham?

Part of the problem could be that house vendors are represented by agents, but buyers are not.

Good for you ! Congrats and good luck . I would buy now too , but I already have my house and I am fortunate in so far as I bought prior to the property boom .

I heard that NAMA were offering properties with a guarantee against up to 20% loss in the first five years? Can anyone confirm that?

NAMA is trying to put an artificial floor under residential property on its books with this subsidy (if approved by government). This would not just inconvenience private sellers, since they couldn’t offer a similar sweetener, but it would completely distort the market, and possibly trigger a mini-bubble in NAMA properties. The last thing the country needs. Set against that is the continued decline in commercial property and the lack of interest in buying into this end if the market. Not much confidence in a recovery short term there. There is a huge amount of vacant property in the state, add in rising mortgage distress and a government intent on spending less and taxing more, property can only continue to drift downwards.

Look into County Council Shared Ownership Schemes. We couldn’t afford a deposit, but paying a mortgage was cheaper than renting (plus, our landlady was selling our rented house, so we had to move on anyway). The council pays for the house upfront, then you pay them rent for half the house (or whatever agreed percentage) and pay them back as a mortgage for the rest of the house. The rent portion of what your paying is still being pi$$ed away, dead money as they say, but you’re not answerable to a landlord, the house is yours essentially. The rented portion just has to be bought out within 30 years.

We bought our house 2 years ago, and while we’re not too happy with the drop in value, we’re not trying to sell so it doesn’t really matter. Rents haven’t dropped nearly as much as house prices, so people are paying over the odds either way.

If I was well off enough to be considering a second home, I’d definately think about buying now.

I’m probably generalising with emphasis on Dublin so maybe you’re getting a great deal. I just think that if people, in general, haven’t learned from what happened then they deserve what they get. I think that prices will continue to drop and that there is better value to be gotten. Best of luck anyway, at least you’re willing to offer what it’s worth not what they claim it’s worth and move on if rejected. That is the only way to approach buying these days.

Part of the fall in prices this year was the reduction in demand caused by inability of prospective buyers to get mortgage approval.

Approvals for loans were 50% of last years rate.

Last year 1 in 10 loans were being approved.

This illusiion of ‘owning your own place’ is what got the country into this mess. You DONT own your house, the bank does until you pay it off in 30+ years! Dont fall for the trap like the rest of the ‘sheeple’!

Well I do own my own place ! Well worth it too. I would do it all over again.

it’s a very fair point, why the 10 dislikes?

How many of the 90,000 houses are in locations in which people want to live?

How many houses are proximate to amenities, schools, services, jobs?

How may of them are in completed estates?

How many are best empty houses?

“best empty houses” –> “beside empty houses”

In the sense that “best” means “location, location, location” then the previous poster may be correct – it would be interesting to define “best”.

Good on you for buying a house!

There is a lot of negative consumer confidence bordering on depression around at the moment, Tony.

Plus I imagine some of it is begrudgery on the part of those who bought at the top of the market and are in negative equity.

What’s really annoying is that some of those in negative equity are in good jobs (part of the 85% who are still in work) can afford their mortgages and are STILL whining because they cannot change their house as often or as quickly as like they would like.

Properties are not like a coat or a car.

Why isnt a house like a coat or a car? It’s that silly attitude that got us into this mess in the first place.

I think they’re taking taking the piss mate. Ignore them. Good for you and good luck to you.

thats the right attitude to have what i dont get there is so many people moaning on about negative equity. if you own your home. and you buy your home so its yours and you will be there till you die all going well then why are most mortage holders moaning that there house has gone down in value if the reason you have is what i stated above is the idea of a motrgage it just doesnt make sense.

I agree that 10-15% should be the target for rental yields. The less desirable the area, the higher the rental yield one should demand. However, in the case of Dublin, rents are not falling. They have actually stabilised and in some cases, they are rising.

I think overall that house prices will drop another 10% in central Dublin areas, probably 20-25% in the greater Dublin area and up to 40% in some other areas. I’ve noticed a increase in transactions for well located Dublin houses. In counties such as Leitrim, Mayo, Clare and Kerry, prices remain completely unrealistic. Vendors are holding out for high asking prices that they’re never going to achieve.

NAMA remains a big factor. By keeping a large inventory of properties off the market, prices are being kept artificially high.

The best buys at the moment are usually distressed properties and some executor sales.

The maximum rental yield historically is slated for around 7%. Ireland was abnormally high in many cases compared to the northern Europe in particular. Because the yield on commercial property has fallen post-06 due to liquidations and examinerships, remaining tenants want/need a reduction in rent. The government has head jammed in sand as per usual on upward only reviews because of pension fund ‘concerns’.

Very good point. Might suggest we are close to the bottom. Now, if we could get the banks to lend…,,