Mullingar house prices are on the way back up

Mullingar house prices are on the way up, driven by a shortage of available properties, and the rising temperatures of the Dublin market, according to auctioneers locally.

But the shortage may be artificial, in the sense that a number of receiver-held properties have either been withdrawn from the market, or not placed on the market at all.

Auctioneers believe these are being sold on as part of bumper packs of repossessed houses to international hedge funds or investment firms, unlikely to release them until prices rise even further.

“There are houses that have been taken off the market by receivers – some were properties on which there was active bidding, and the banks or receivers have just pulled them,” says David McDonnell of Property Partners James B McDonnell Auctioneers.

John Shaw of Aidan Egan Auctioneers, shares a similar belief.

“There would be a lot of investment buyers purchasing mortgage bundles,” he says, adding that there have been a number of houses for which they have been asked to provide valuations, but that haven’t subsequently been put up for sale.

Contributing to the shortage is the fact that virtually no houses are being built, meaning there’s a relatively small pool of houses available to those who have funding in place to buy.

“They’re still not covering construction costs,” says David of today’s selling prices.

Along with that, commuters are back in the market, says Dillon Murtagh, of Murtagh Brothers Auctioneers, adding that houses deemed “affordable” and in town, are selling.

“The most popular are houses that are in good condition, and preferably detached, with three to four bedrooms,” says Dillon.

“The bigger houses are just not quite as popular: everyone is looking at the running costs and BER certs are becoming more relevant when people make a decision, so they’re looking at how efficient the house will be – and if there are a lot of bathrooms, the impact of water charges.”