Daft Property - Irish Property News

Latest figures confirm the "softening" in house prices and according to a report from the Irish Independent... " HOUSE prices fell by 9pc in the past year, wiping €27,500 off the value of the average home. National house prices fell by 0.7pc in March, according to yesterday's Permanent TSB/ERSI house price index. But the price decline for first-time buyer houses was greater, at 10pc, as potential buyers have been squeezed hard by banks hiking up interest rates for new customers. A 10pc drop in First-Time Buyer (FTB) house prices will see some 40,000 new buyers go into negative equity by the end of the year, according to Davy Stockbrokers. Negative equity is when the value of the mortgage is greater than the value of the home. Economists also warned that prices will have to fall further if first time buyers are to be enticed back into the market. New buyers have also been hit by the withdrawal of 100pc mortgages, and the need to find deposits of up to 10pc. Over a th

I read in the Irish Independent today that in Dublin's Temple Bar, once a property hotspot, that..." prices are beginning to drop: a spacious second floor, period-style one-bed, renovated 15 years ago on Parliament Street, with views of the Liffey and the evening sun, has been on the market for two months and the price is down from €365,000 to €345,000. At the Friary, off the cobblestones on Fownes Street, a one-bedroom west-facing apartment over Luigi Malone's restaurant is €410,000, but expected to drop. In Temple Bar Square, the quarter's heartbeat, a two-bedroom apartment, with access to a precious roof terrace and views of the city's skyline has been on the market a year and is available for €450,000. In the tenant zone, plans are in the early stages to refurbish and upgrade some of derelict Crampton Court apartments with its little garden, car-parking spacess and views overlooking the Liffey. And to rent? Despite so few properties being available, bites are s

The battle continues over the M3, (being built due to Dublin's sprawling Commuter belt, as I mentioned in a previous post on March 1, 2008 "The M3, BBC & Dublin's Sprawling Commuter Belt..." ) Today according the independent.ie: ..."the The war of words continued yesterday between protesters, who have occupied tunnels they secretly made beside the Rath Lugh protected monument, and the National Roads Authority. The Save Tara campaign group said yesterday that a young woman has vowed to seal herself into one of the tunnels to protect the hill, which is studded with ancient earthworks... "There are specialist tunnel rescue crews that need to be consulted before any attempt is made to end this protest," said the group." The protesters have also previously that stated that they have enough food in the tunnels for months. The M3 motorway which has, so far, been delayed for years is costing a whopping €1billion! An expensive price tag to destroy an a

Looks like Interest Rates in Ireland rates will be dropping. According to a report, in The Irish Independent Newspaper (www.independent.ie), The European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday paved the way for the first cuts in nearly five years! ECB president Jean Claude Trichet left rates unchanged when the ECB met yesterday and there was no mention of increases. David Tilson of Bank of Ireland, said: "The ECB has effectively dropped its threat to raise interest rates." Skip the Champagne... Don't start celebrating yet - most of top analysts believe there will be no rate drops until the second half of 2008 (at the earliest)!