Slowdown in housing market
House price rises in Ireland stalled in the last three months of the
year as six interest rates hikes squeezed buyers out of the market.
And in Dublin, the price of second-hand properties fell in the October,
November and December period, new figures show.
The rapid slowdown in house prices in the final three months of the year
means that house-price growth will fall steeply this year, leading Irish
estate agents Sherry FitzGerald said.
The average price for a second-hand house in Ireland grew by just 0.1
per cent during the last three months of 2006, according to the estate
agents.
However because there was such a surge in house prices in the first half
of the year the total price growth for 2006 came in at 18 per cent.
Sherry FitzGerald economist Marian Finnegan said: “After a phenomenal
first six months in which average house prices rose spectacularly, price
inflation moderated notably in the latter months of the year.”
Ms Finnegan said that despite the sharp downturn in price growth at the
end of last year, 2006 would still go down as a record one for house-price
inflation.
First-time buyers were still major players in the second-hand market in
2006, accounting for about 34 per cent of properties traded, the report
said.
However investors were emerging as key movers in the housing market.
Last year, investors increased their activity, purchasing 20 per cent
of all second-hand properties, compared to 17 per cent in 2005.
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