The Irish property market collapsed spectacularly when most of Europe went into meltdown. Ireland was one of the “I”s in “PIGS” – Portugal, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Greece and Spain. That’s largely thanks to feckless lending by the big banks, which needless to say were bailed out, but until now have been oddly reluctant to lend to anyone wanting to borrow. Anyway, bottom fishers have kept an eagle eye on the Irish housing market and now, with distressed sales about to begin in earnest, the real bargain hunters are asking: is it time to buy in Dublin again?
Hong Kong people are surprisingly keen investors in Irish property, helped by thousands of them having offspring enrolled at Ireland’s universities. As in the UK, Hong Kong parents often buy a place for their kids in the town where they are studying, rather than rent.
For all you property buffs glued to the Europe market, Ireland is a good economic barometer. Bring small, with total population of about five million, north and south, it crashes faster, but also tends to bounce back quicker than its less nimble neighbours. Ireland is especially keen to distance itself from the plight of the property markets of Spain, Greece, and Portugal which are also associated with unacceptably high unemployment levels.
One drawback for the overseas investor used to be the difficulty of getting good data, but the introduction of the new Irish "Property Price Register" in 2012 allows transaction prices to be compared against asking prices, a big help. Paul Burke, Hong Kong-based Ireland property consultant, uses the level of transaction as one basic indicator. Right now, he says that's positive, but it’s still a long way from the heady days of the Celtic Tiger.
But the good news, he says, is that Ireland’s residential prices have begun to rise in selective districts of Dublin - at last.