Searches spike on Daft.ie for Limerick properties

SEARCHES for new homes in Limerick have increased by 91% in the week's following the launch of the ‘Help-to-buy’ scheme by the Government, according to the property website Daft.ie.

The site recorded an increase of 91% in searches for new homes in Limerick when compared with the same period last year.

“The spike in searches was quite large and certainly points to an increased interest in new homes on the back of the launch of the ‘Help-to-buy’ scheme for first-time buyers.

“The areas to attract the most interest in Limerick were Castletroy, Annacotty, Raheen, Rhebogue and Limerick city,” said Martin Clancy of Daft.ie.

In the city, prices between September and December 2016 were 7.6% higher than a year previously. The average house price is now €166,000 – an increase of 39.4% from the lowest point. There are currently over 1,300 homes available to buy in Limerick on the site.

Of those, less than 750 are priced under €200,000; another 200 are priced up to €300,000, and 100 properties are priced between €300,000 to €500,000. Just 24 properties are currently priced above €500,000.

At the time of going to print, a total of 1,784 houses sold in Limerick in 2016, according to the most recent listings with the Property Price Register, the database of all house sales nationwide.

In 2016, 239 homes sold in Castletroy, 28 sold in Annacotty, 48 sold in Raheen, and 19 sold in Rhebogue. Just 11 houses have been added to the register today for the month of January.

New research by a recruitment company shows that chartered valuation surveyors, residential block managers, and quantity surveyors are the top three skills shortages in the Irish property sector that are currently paying a premium.

Recruitment Plus, which has offices in Dublin, Dundalk and Limerick, saw a 35% increase in the number of Irish property specialists abroad enquiring about current opportunities in the Irish property market.