The number of property transactions in Meath last year rose by over 23% compared to 2011 according to new analysis by MyHome.ie.
There were 795 house sales in the county in 2012, up from the 610 transactions in 2011. However the Meath property market has bucked the trend somewhat in that last year’s level of transactions is 5.5% less than the 841 recorded in 2010.
Most sales took place under the €250K mark, where 644 properties were sold.
This is also where the largest growth in sales occurred with sales in this category up 29.7% on the 2011 figure of 453 and 11.2% on the 2010 figure of 572.
The study – based on figures from the Property Price Register – shows that in the three years from 2012 to 2010 there were 2,246 property transactions in Meath.
Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie said the increase in transactions last year and the positive start to 2013 was a positive signal.
“Estate agents are telling us that prices are stabilising and even rising in some places but the the big problem they face is supply. We saw that reflected in our own figures for the first three months of the year with the price of 3 bed semis in Meath falling by just 0.7%.
The fact that the level of transactions in the Royal County is not back up to 2010 levels might indicate that less people are looking to commute to the city. As in many other counties lots of people are prevented from moving due to negative equity or fear of losing their tracker mortgages. The fact that some banks are saying they will now let movers hold onto their tracker mortgages is to be welcomed and hopefully this will encourage people to move and boost further the promising level of transaction we have seen already this year” Ms Keegan said.
Looking at the upper end of the market there were just two transactions over €1 million last year– with 26 units at the Kilmainhamwood Retirement Village selling for €1.36m in May and Bessborough House in Balrath selling for €1,318,000 in November.
Sales between €500,000 to €750,000 were up last year to 13 from eight the year before and only narrowly behind the 14 from 2010.
In contrast, there were just 134 sales in the €250,000 to €500,000 price range – down from 147 in 2011 and 248 in 2010.
Unsurprisingly, Navan – with 180 transactions - accounted for over a fifth of the county’s sales last year at 22.6%. That was an increase on the 140 sales (23%) from 2011 and on the 172 transactions (20.5%) in 2010.
2013
So far this year there have been 178 transactions in Meath, with 155 of them coming under the €250,000 mark, while twenty one cost between €250,000 and €500,000. There was also one sale apiece between €500,000 - €750,000 and €750,000 - €1m.
It has been a promising start to the year though with the 49 sales in January the highest for that month in the years covered by the Price Register.
Sales for the first three months of the year were also 10 higher than for the first quarter of 2012 and 12 higher than the first three months of 2011.
For full details and analysis of house prices and searches using the Property Price Register go to www.MyHome.ie
