AS MANY as half of all landlords are getting out of the rental market, according to those at the front lines of property selling.
This comes as one Limerick auctioneer says that there are more properties slated to come onto the market.
“This quarter has seen a modest rise in the number of properties coming to market,” said Pat Dooley of REA Dooley, based on O’Connell Street in Limerick City.
“While there is still growth, particularly in the three and four bed semi market, higher priced property has slowed somewhat, with not as many active viewers. Two interest rates hikes may be a contributory factor here.
“It is quite evident that the number of landlords exiting the market is now somewhere between one in two and one in three.
“A big issue here will be that tenants will have nowhere to go when their termination notices are up. It is important the government introduce meaningful legislation relating to the taxation of landlords to slow the exodus of properties.
“County landlords seem to be exiting the rental market as much if not more than those in the city. This leads us to believe that it is more of a taxation issue and less of a rent pressure zone issue, as none of County Limerick is in a rent pressure zone.”
Meanwhile, the price of the average second-hand three-bed semi in Limerick City has increased by 1.9 per cent to €265,000 in the last three months, according to a national survey by Real Estate Alliance.
Average prices in the County Limerick area rose even more, moving up 2.3 per cent to €225,000 this quarter, the REA Average House Price Index shows.
Across the county, Mr Dooley notes, the average time taken to sell increased from four weeks to five this quarter, while in Limerick City it increased by one week to four weeks total.
In the city, agents report that six in ten purchasers this quarter were first time buyers, with three in ten of those buyers coming from outside the county.
The survey found that across the county, more than half of purchasers were first time buyers, with almost half of those coming from outside the county.
Additionally, across both city and county, BER-A rated homes are commanding a 15 per cent premium over their C-rated equivalents.
Nationally, the actual selling price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house rose by 1.4 per cent over the past three months to €290,630 – representing an annual increase of 10 per cent.
This is a marked slowdown on the 2.9 per cent quarterly increase recorded in the preceding three months.
