Dublin among top 10 fastest growing property markets

Dublin was the fifth fastest growing property market in the world in 2013, and the only European city to feature in the top 10, a new survey says.

According to the Prime International Residential Index 2014 from Knight Frank, Dublin took its place in the top 10, alongside other cities which are predominantly in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, as one of the world’s fastest growing property markets.

Growth in Dublin (17.5 per cent) is now surpassing that of London (7.5 per cent); New York (10.4 per cent); and Sydney (9.3 per cent).

Rena O’Kelly, director with Knight Frank Ireland, says the city’s inclusion in the top 10 “will undoubtedly throw the spotlight on Dublin from an international perspective, and while Dublin will never compete with the global interest for prime residential in neighbouring London, the report will educate a global audience of the nearby opportunities in Ireland”. O’Kelly notes that the agent is already experiencing “increased interest from international buyers who have become an increasingly important feature of the market, particularly those from China, Malaysia and Singapore”.

Last year Dublin placed in 24th position with price growth of 2.5 per cent. Switzerland was the only European country in the top 10 last year, due to the fifth placing of Gstaad.

This year, thanks to a supply crunch and the strength of cash buyers, Dublin prices soared by 17.5 per cent in 2013 according to the survey, leading some to question whether Dublin is “on the cusp of another bubble”.

Kate Everett-Allen, head of PIRI analysis with Knight Frank, disagrees, pointing out that in Dublin, as in Dubai which has had very strong price growth of late, “average prices have yet to approach, let alone exceed, their pre-crisis highs”. Everett-Allen also points out that cash buyers continue to drive sales and that ownership costs – as evidenced by the introduction of the property tax last year – are higher than in 2008. Overall, prices are on the up across the world, according to the survey, with prices falling in 39 per cent of locations, compared with almost half in 2012. Leading the pack is Jakarta in Indonesia, with annual price growth of 38 per cent, almost exactly the same as the rate in 2012. Bali follows in third place.