What does the 2023 housing market have in
store for buyers and renters?

In our opinion the market will remain robust this year, but the level of price growth will
continue to moderate in Kerry and neighbouring counties with low single-digit house price
growth anticipated for the year ahead.

The Irish economy remains well placed to weather the current headwinds of both rising
interest rates and inflation.

We anticipate demand in the new-homes market will be underpinned in 2023 by the
extension of the help-to-buy scheme until the end of 2024, and the new first-home shared-
equity scheme. In addition, the recent changes to the macroprudential lending rules issued by
the Central Bank, which take effect in January, are significant, as they increase the loan-to-
income limits for first-time buyers to four times income and increase the loan-to-value limits
for second-time buyers to 90 per cent from 80 per cent. As a result, we fully expect the
number of residential transactions to exceed 2022 levels.

Rising energy costs will cause more people to choose a newly-built home rather than an older
one requiring renovation due to the increased awareness of the benefits of a good energy
rating and the beneficial cost savings.

Cost inflation will put further pressure on the delivery cost of new homes, which will impact
on what prices prospective homebuyers will have to pay.

The quality of new homes in terms of design, layout and amenities will continue to make
them a popular option for homebuyers. However, there will continue to be insufficient supply
to meet demand due to the rising population, which was clearly shown in the census.
Tight supply across the market continues to act as a problem for downsizers also, many of
whom will not sell without having a home to move to because of the lack of availability of
bridging finance.

As rents continue to hit record highs, those who can avail of a mortgage and buy their own
homes will do so because, in the majority of cases, most people will be better off financially if
they buy.

Rents in our opinion will moderate but not decrease, they are at very high levels and a tipping
point has been reached where it is now cheaper to own a property than rent. Scarcity of
rental properties continues to be an issue in the market.

If you have a property for sale or rent we at Mannix Property Services would be delighted to
hear from you. Please contact Brendan on 086 050 8804

For more tips on property follow us on, Facebook & LinkedIn.