Area focus: South Dublin

South Dublin remains one of the most popular areas of the capital to live in but a lack of stock is having a major impact.

While Dublin 6 and Dublin 4 continue to be the most sought-after areas, sales there are struggling because not enough properties are coming to the market to satisfy demand.

A study of the Property Price Register by MyHome.ie has shown that the level of transactions for the first half of the year in Dublin 6 are back at 2012 levels having fallen by 15 per cent on the same period last year.

Dublin 4 saw a modest sales increase by 5 per cent to 177 in the first half of 2014 but this represented just nine extra transactions, with the value of those transactions falling by 5 per cent during the same period from the start of January to the end of June.

Donnybrook, Ballsbridge and Rathgar might be ever popular but higher prices and a lack of stock have contributed to falls in the level of transactions in these areas of 35 per cent, 34 per cent and 8 per cent respectively in the first half of this year.

In contrast, Dublin 6W is thriving with transactions up by 119 per cent. That level of growth in sales has also led to a 113 per cent increase in the amount of money spent on property in Dublin 6W.

Leading the charge is Terenure, which recorded a transactions increase from 48 in the first half of last year to 178 in the same period of this year. This 271 per cent increase was largely down to 112 individual sales of apartments in Bushy Park House but other areas such as Ballycullen, Stepaside, Rialto, Dundrum, Shankill and Templeogue all recorded sizeable increases in the number of properties sold making activity in the southside of the city flourish when the two big postcode areas are excluded.

There were falls of 68 per cent and 34 per cent in Kimmage and Rathfarnham respectively, as well as a 25 per cent fall in transactions in Cabinteely, and again, this is largely attributable to poor availability of stock.

There were just over 1,000 properties for sale in the south side of the city in mid-August, and about 70 per cent of these were houses and the remainder apartments.

With a wide range of amenities, transport links and close proximity to the city, it is easy to see why the southside of Dublin remains ever popular and it is this area which has led the recent property market revival in the capital, according to Pat Mullery of DNG Terenure.

“Dublin 6, Dublin 4, Dublin 14 and a bit wider would be attracting very strong prices at the minute,” he said. “Rathfarnham, Rathgar, Rathmines and Templeogue are all in great demand but that comes back to the fact that the area is well-serviced by schools, sports clubs and parks. Those areas also offer close proximity to the city, the M50 and other services.”

Mullery adds that, while there has been a clamour for more homes to be built in the capital in recent months, the lack of available development land in many parts of the southside means that prices here are set to continue to rise for the foreseeable future.

“In this area you only get pockets of land. There is some available around Dublin 16 and 18 but a lot of the other areas are already very built up. The current price trends might taper off a bit in terms of percentages but I can still see price growth for the foreseeable future because of all the other factors that are important,” he said.

Simon Ensor of Sherry FitzGerald, who says there is particularly strong demand for "good value family homes", with the apartment market also improving.

“There is a demand at present for good, well-located apartments. Certainly we’re seeing very healthy demand in general in Dublin 6 in terms of the volume of activity but also in Dublin 4 and along the coast.”

Ensor concedes that stock remains an issue, with the level of supply not meeting the pent up demand in the market at present.

“There’s no doubt that the recent inflation in prices is a direct result of a lack of stock. The situation is better than it was last year but there’s still not nearly enough properties coming on to the market.

“One big advantage of the increase in the capital values of homes, though, has been that some people have been lifted out of negative equity and that gives them confidence to move on.

“For two years the challenge for vendors was to get a buyer, but now it is to get the best possible price. In Dublin at present, everywhere is saleable and anything that is not selling is because the price being asked is a bit optimistic.

“Anything on a good transport route close to a Luas or Dart line will generate interest, particularly if it is in that category of being a three-, four-, or five-bed home with a decent garden. If you’re looking to buy then I can’t see the logic of waiting at the moment, on the condition, of course, that you find something that meets your requirements,” said Ensor.

Meanwhile, Vincent Finnegan of Vincent Finnegan Estate Agents describes the current revival as a "fragile recovery affected by a range of external factors."

However, he sees strong value at present in the higher end of the market and in apartments.

“The higher end properties and apartments have not corrected themselves to the extent that two- to five-bed houses have. The million-plus and larger houses have had a resounding performance recently and there is terrific value per square foot. One of the reasons for this is that the recession knocked a lot of high-end players out of the market.

“Apartments too are becoming more popular again. They were out of fashion for a long time and almost a dirty word but that’s changing. Apartments are a huge part of any city in the world and Dublin is no different,” Finnegan said.