Dublin
Buy house or flat in Dublin
Housing Market in Dublin
After the burst of the real estate bubble during the economic crisis of 2008 - 2009, the prices are gradually rising again up to 3.9% in Dublin in the first three months of this year. Nowadays, the average three-bed semi in Dublin now costs 404.167€, a rise of €15.000 in the last three months and an increase of 12.8% in the past year alone.
South county Dublin (380.000€), Cork city (305.000€), north county Dublin (282.500€) and Wicklow all featured high on the list of areas with the most expensive house prices in the country, well above the national average of 209.944€. The most significant price increase in the first quarter of 2017 came in Kilkenny, where the price of a three-bed semi is now 182.500€, having increased by 10.6% in the last three months.
At the other end of the scale, meanwhile, the cheapest house prices are to be found in Longford (81.000€), Donegal (87.500€) and Leitrim (93.000€).
How to Search for Real Estate in Ireland
Online Listing
Most of the properties in Dublin are found online. The best websites for starting a search are:
Another online resource is the Dublin classifieds on EasyExpat. You can also chat with other expats on the Ireland forum and share and receive advice.
Newspapers
Newspapers are a good source for searching available real estate, both in small cities and the country capital, Dublin. For property ads consult the print versions of the main Irish publications:
- Metro and 20 minutes (free newspaper available daily in Dart, Luas stations and Bus Station)
- The Irish Times (Friday)
- The Irish Independent (Thursday and Sunday)
- The Examiner
- The Sunday Business Post
- State Radio & TV
Estate Agents in Dublin
Hiring a real estate agent may save you a lot of time and worry. An agent will consult you on your search, accompany you to the viewings, help with drawing up the necessary documents for signing the contract and, if necessary, also consult on options for receiving a credit. The price of the rental agent's services can vary from agent to agent thus it is necessary to discuss it beforehand and sign a contract. The agent is paid only when the contract for buying the property has been signed.
Keep in mind: If the real estate agent is hired by the landlord in whose property you are interested in, the costs of the agent should be covered by the property owner. Typically, depending on the agreement and the total cost of the transaction, the agent is paid a higher or lower percentage. The more expensive the property, the smaller percentage goes to the real estate agent. The price for the real estate agent's services is negotiated between the client and the agent and is paid once the deal has been closed and the payment of the property has been completed.
Daft.ie publishes more than 430 results for Estate Agents with offices in Dublin
Process for Buying Property in Ireland
When buying a house in Ireland is important to work closely with your solicitor and to keep him/her informed of any new developments.
The process is:
- Find out what you can afford: It is important to evaluate all costs involved in buying a home, for example, mortgage costs, legal fees, registration of deeds and stamp duty, etc. The amount of money that you can get as a mortgage loan is governed by Central Bank lending limits. If you have calculated that you can afford to buy a property, taking all of these factors into account, then you are ready to buy.
- Get a solicitor: Conveyancing is the legal work involved in buying or selling property and its charges can vary between solicitors.
- Find a property you like and can afford: Property websites, auctioneers and estate agents are the main ways of finding property for sale. There is a public register of auctioneers and estate agents on the website of the Property Services Regulatory Authority. Sometimes individual sellers advertise their property themselves Newspapers may also have property supplements or publish advertisements for properties for sale.
- Get a survey: A seller is under no obligation to disclose defects in a property. You should get a survey of the property to find out if there are any defects before finalising the purchase. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) is the professional body for chartered surveyors.
- Get mortgage approval: You can get mortgage approval in principle before you start to look for a property; this will let you know how much you have to spend. However, when you find a property you like, you must get formal mortgage approval before you sign the contract for sale.
- Sign the contract for sale: The contract for sale binds the parties to the completion of the sale.
- Requisitions on Title and Deed of Conveyance: After signing the contract and before the completion date of the sale, your solicitor raises some general queries about the property with the seller's solicitor. Requisitions on Title are a standard set of questions relating to the sale of a property that deal with such things as whether fixtures and fittings are included in the sale.
Your solicitor should also conduct a search where the title to the property is held (either in the Land Registry or the Registry of Deeds) to ensure that there is nothing adverse attaching to the property, for example, an outstanding mortgage. Once the Deed of Conveyance is approved by the seller's solicitor, your solicitor will contact your mortgage provider to request the issue of the approved loan cheque.
Stamp duty: The stamp duty is paid to the Revenue Commissioners, who place a stamp on the deeds. Without this stamp, the deeds cannot be registered. The deeds name the owner of the property.
Deeds: Once a sale is completed, your deeds, showing the new ownership details and mortgage details, if relevant, must be registered with either the Registry of Deeds or the Land Registry. The Property Registration Authority (PRA) is responsible for both systems of registration.
Buying a Local Authority House or Flat in Ireland
Several purchase schemes have been developed to enable tenants of local authority houses or apartments to buy their homes from the local authority.
Rules to access a local authority house or flat
To qualify for this new scheme, you must have been getting social housing support for at least a year on the date of application and you must have an annual income of at least €15,000 per year. You may be able to get a local authority mortgage.
You will get a discount of 60%, 50% or 40% off the purchase price of the house, depending on your income. An incremental charge, equivalent to the discount, will be placed on the house. Over a specified period of years, this charge will reduce to nil in annual increments of 2% of the total value of the house, unless you resell the house or breach the conditions of sale during this specified period.
If you sell the house within this specified period, you will have to pay the outstanding incremental charge on the house to the local authority.
Find more information about these schemes on Environ.ie.
Property Auctions in Ireland
Estate agents and auctioneers are regulated by the Property Services Regulatory Authority. It is important to remember that the estate agent or auctioneer is acting on behalf of the seller and is acting in the seller's interest.
Notice of the date and time of the auction is usually advertised in a local newspaper, estate agent or by a sign on the property. A reserve figure is set for the property, usually by the seller or the auctioneer. The reserve figure is the value the property must achieve; anything below this and the property will be withdrawn from the market.
At all times during the auction, however, the vendor (seller) can withdraw the property from the market, even if it has achieved the reserve figure. The vendor can also reserve the right to sell the property before the auction.
Before the auction takes place, your solicitor should check the contract for sale for the property (issued by the seller's solicitor) and all title documents that are referred to in that contract. The successful bidder immediately pays a deposit and signs the contract for sale (see below). It is important to get home insurance as soon as possible.
The website http://www.daft.ie provides the best listings.
Private Treaty Sales in Ireland
A private treaty sale is where the property is not put into an auction. You can contact the seller or the seller's agent, usually an estate agent, to agree a purchase price.
If there is an estate agent involved, once you have agreed to buy the property you may be required to pay a booking deposit to the estate agent. The legal process to buy the property may only start when the estate agent receives your booking deposit. This deposit is refundable up to the signing of the contract for sale.
Update 16/02/2021
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