West Cork Property
The West Cork Property market tends to go into a sort-of hibernation at this time of year. From the Sheep’s Head east to Glengarriff and beyond to the Beara Peninsula, property activity turns down to simmering level for the remainder of the year.
Before Santa’s arrival, there’s the even more relevant arrival of the Budget from Minister of Finance Brian Cowen. We’ve been getting used to our finance ministers bringing presents in early December (as opposed to the dark old days not so long ago, when all he had for us was the financial equivalent of a bag of sticks!) and although Fianna Fáil have been at pains to point out that this budget won’t be a giveaway, it is difficult to see anything other than a full sack of goodies in Brian Cowen’s bag come December 6th.
Since McDowell’s blather about the government not needing stamp duty, speculation has been rife that stamp duty is in for a cut. The government have been saying that this is not the case, but public perception could very well prove to force the reality of some tinkering with the stamp duty rates (which are very high in Ireland) and now the government is saying that it might happen. So, we’ll have to wait and see on that one. In the meantime, potential buyers have been inclined to hold back, and with house price inflation having fallen significantly and with interest rates on temporary hold (so it would appear), then there isn’t likely to be much frenetic activity until January. The first month of the year is usually a busy one and this January may prove to be busier than others.
Meanwhile, the West Cork property scene remains strong and generally more immune to the high seas of market conditions than other parts of Ireland or Europe are.
