Housing prices in Ireland are expected to fall by as much as five per cent by the middle of next year.
According to a new analysis by Goodbody Stock Brokers, housing prices and rental costs in the country are expected to fall by the end of 2021 as the impact of the Covid recedes.
Meanwhile, the Economic and Social Research Institute, Bank of Ireland and KBC had earlier predicted that house prices would fall by up to 20 per cent.
Goodbody economist Dermot O’Leary said the number of homes to be completed this year will reach 20,000 and that house prices will fall by five per cent by the middle of next year but will fall by 1.7 per cent by the end of the year.
Goodbody economist Dermot O’Leary said the number of homes to be completed this year will reach 20,000 and that house prices will fall by five per cent by the middle of next year but will fall by 1.7 per cent by the end of the year.
He points out that along with house prices, house rents will also fall. Rental costs are expected to fall by 3.2 percent this year and 2.8 percent next year, and average housing prices are likely to consolidate.
Goodbody says the average housing price last year was 274,000 euros. It is forecast to drop to 273,500 euros by the end of this year and by the end of next year, the average house price will fall 1.7 percent to 267,000 euros.
Goodbody Analytics reports that 20,000 homes will be ready for sale by the end of the year, even though the construction sector had to close due to the Covid crisis. Last year it was 21,000.
Construction of 5,500 houses was completed in the third quarter of this year. It was 3,290 in the second quarter.
The Central Bank estimates that only 35,000 houses a year can meet the needs of the people of the country.
At the same time, O’Leary warns that the Covid crisis could last a long time in the housing sector.