Lack of supply responsible for continued rise in house prices - auctioneer

Eva Osborne

Lack of supply of properties to the housing market is responsible for climbing house prices, according to estate agency Auctioneera.

Brokers Ireland joined in, stating that it is "obvious" that something different is needed to stimulate more supply.

The comments follow a CSO report which revealed house prices in the State continued to increase in August and hit double-digit growth, with the national Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) increasing by 10.1 per cent in the 12 months prior.

Prices in Dublin rose by 10.8 per cent and prices outside Dublin were up by 9.6 per cent.

Auctioneera estate agency director, Helen O’Keeffe, said the figures released on Wednesday "just underline what we are seeing every day in the Irish property market".

"The ongoing price rises, as per the CSO results, are bad news for all those many people trying to get on the property ladder but also those looking to downsize.

"At the crux of the issue with price rises is the lack of supply of properties to the market. Demand is massive, with attendances at viewings across the country consistently busy.

"At Auctioneera, the moment we put a property live on the market, we are inundated with calls for viewings, so there is huge competition among buyers, inevitably leading to those dreaded bidding wars.

"One positive on the horizon is the hope that with recent mortgage rate cuts by the European Central Bank, and possibly more to come, we will see more people looking to come to market as they gain confidence to buy onwards. A more stable market is something everyone would welcome."

Deputy chief executive at Brokers Ireland, Rachel McGovern, said a whole of Government approach is needed, such as that recommended in the Housing Commission report published in May.

“There are far too many bodies, authorities and institutions doing their own thing in a largely uncoordinated way. It badly needs to be pulled together and the Housing Commission recommendation seems to us to be the kind of disruptive change needed," she said.