Despite the harbingers of doom and gloom that were so prevalent in our local and national media towards the end of 2006, the West Cork property scene did perform well during the year. Figures just released by the Permanent TSB House Price Index show an increase in property prices nationally of just under 12%. This was a bit more than a lot of people – including myself – were predicting. The Irish Examiner today has an interesting analysis of the figures.

Interest rates are continuing to rise, unfortunately (I too, have a mortgage), but demand for housing carries on relentlessly. This is the all-important factor; demand. Once demand is increasing, then property prices will also increase, as long as supply doesn’t outstrip demand, of course. But, years of government fumbling and tinkering with the punitive stamp duty rates, all the while ignoring this simple fact, have meant that there’s really very little chance of that happening.

So, even as the interest rates continue to climb, people need housing so they continue to buy. It’s the investor side of things that’s taking a knock. But then, that really is no harm at all. It’s far better for all concerned, I believe to have annual increases in property prices of the order of 6% instead of the insane snowballing that we had a few years back, which really only served the interests of a few.

In recapping, therefore, it’s with confident eye on West Cork property that we look forward to another busy year and in a climate where opportunities for everyone will be there to be enjoyed.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 30th, 2007 at 11:53 am and is filed under News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.