Cork auctioneer: People priced out of areas such as Ballincollig

A Cork auctioneer says that people are being priced out of areas such as Ballincollig, as the latest Daft.ie report shows that Cork city prices are continuing to rise.

The report shows that in Cork city, the average house price is now €358,676, a 3.7% increase from the end of 2024, a 9.2% rise from this time last year, and up 28.6% from pre-covid prices.

In Cork county, the average price is slightly lower at €307,521. This is up 3.5% from three months ago, 7.4% from a year ago and 36.2% from before the pandemic.

The report also notes that on March 1, there were fewer than 2,500 second-hand homes for sale in Munster, down 19% on the same date a year ago, and less than one third of the 2015-2019 average.

Jason O’Regan, of Ballincollig-based O’Mahony Walsh Property, Services, said that they are definitely seeing these increases on the ground.

“We’d see a lot of second-hand homes in well-established estates, every time you sell one you see the prices go up, the same houses are going for 60k or 70k more than two years ago. The report also says that we have the lowest amount of second-hand houses in Ireland at the moment, that’s always going to inflate prices,” said Mr O’Regan.

He said properties requiring significant work might take time to sell, but anything ready for occupation is off the market very fast.

“It’s a good time to be selling, not as good to be buying,” he said.

Ballincollig is affected by not only the national trend of rising prices but increases due to being included as part of Cork city rather than county since 2019, Mr O’Regan said, leaving many who grew up there priced out of the area.

“We’d see them bidding on three or four different houses for a few months; they’ve got their budget, and someone else keeps topping it,” said Mr O’Regan. “These are really nice people with good jobs, approved for a mortgage. They should be in position to buy a good house, but there’s cash buyers coming in, which is more straightforward.

“It’s all supply and demand, there’s a shortage of supply at the moment and demand is huge, we will be getting 10, 12, 15 people viewing properties, five or six active bidders at any given time — only one can buy the house, so there’s disappointment for five of them then.”

Mr O’Regan said some people can get angry at him and his colleagues.

“I’ve bought and sold houses myself, so I understand the stress people are under,” he said.