Ireland’s property market may be stabilising

The Irish property market is showing signs of stabilising, with mortgage lending up and house prices rising, according to Invezz.com.

The Irish Banking Federation/PwC quarterly mortgage survey showed that nearly 4,000 new mortgages were issued by banks through July to September – up almost 25% compared to the previous quarter.

This amounted to a 10% increase year-on-year – the first annual rise since 2006.
The overall value of home loans granted by Ireland’s banks in the third quarter of the year was ?663 million – the largest volume for two years.

Half of the amount of new mortgages was accredited to first-time buyers, due to the government’s provision of interest relief to those buying their first home.
Juliet Tennent, economist at Goodbody Stockbrokers, expressed doubt over whether this would last.

“It remains to be seen if these positive trends continue after the end of 2012 when the relief is due to expire,” she said.

Figures from Ireland’s Central Statistics office showed that house prices have also climbed.
Prices rose 0.9% across the country last month – up from 0.5% in August and 0.2% in July. This is the fastest monthly growth in five years.

“We genuinely believe the housing market may have turned around after bottoming in June,” said Owen Callan and Frank Oeland Hansen, analysts at Danske Bank.

“Potential home buyers might begin to view this as a golden opportunity,” they added.

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