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HOLA441

If only the government and BoE would stop distorting the market to stop this happening here...

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/property-plus/beginners-luck-2671083.html

Beginners luck? Irish Independent 9 June 2011

Today's first-time buyers are having more luck when it comes to prices and choice of home but not when it comes to mortgages writes Donal Buckley

FIRST-TIME buyers have changed. Unlike their older sisters and brothers, who rushed onto the property ladders and bought with impulsive optimism during the boom, the current crop of first-time buyers are more patient, and are playing it cool and savvy as they know they can afford to wait as prices continue to fall.

They are waiting to pounce when they see the house they really want at the price they can afford in the area of their choice. First-timers are seeking mature areas from which asset-rich, but cash-poor, investors have to move.

They can have the best of both worlds as they can afford to buy houses, rather than flats, which are closer to the action without having to trek long distances to work or family activities. They can skip the bottom rungs of the property ladder. Now, first-timers are more likely to be in their 30s compared to noughties buyers, many of whom were in their 20s and were frightened into buying in case homes later became unaffordable.

Ronan O'Driscoll, a director of Savills, says: "Unlike their noughties counterparts, today's first timers are not interested in over extending themselves and are willing to settle for more modest houses at more modest prices as they have learned the lessons from their friends. They are also looking ahead and allowing for the prospect of interest rate rises."

O'Driscoll has also noticed that as many as half the current first timers are either non-national couples or couples where one of the partners is Irish.

"Location is a key factor and they are negotiating for hard bargains," he adds.

According to Rachel Doyle, mortgage services director at the Professional Insurance Brokers Association (PIBA), the current first-timers are also in a much better position to borrow. Five years ago they would have saved relatively little and borrowed an average of 95pc of the price of a house.

Now, first-timers have been saving more thanks in part to lower rents. They are also applying for mortgages of only about 83pc of the price of the home. Furthermore, with prices down by between 40 and 60pc, the average house price is now only 5.28 times the average industrial wage.

Mortgages

Back at the peak of the market it was practically double this, at 10.39 times the average industrial wage. Which goes to show how much more affordable homes have become in the last five years.

"Consequently they are now borrowing only three or four times their annual salary whereas their noughties neighbours borrowed as much as seven or eight times their salaries," Ms Doyle says.

FTBs now account for about 55pc of mortgage applications as demand from investors and families trading up has fallen back sharply.

Even so, they are finding it easier to get mortgage approval than are the other types of buyers as, when it comes to mortgage approvals, first-timers account for an even larger share of this market.

According to PIBA, these buyers received 73pc of the mortgages approved in the first five months of the year.

Ms Doyle also notices that first-timers are opting to build their own houses in sites they are buying or have received as a gift from their family. As many as 10pc of the mortgages approved for first-timers were for homes they wished to build themselves.

This trend was also reflected in a number of recent auctions where first-timers were among the successful bidders when old cottages on generous sites came up for auction. Such properties had the advantage of having an existing house, which made it easy to secure planning permission for a replacement or revamped house in an attractive area.

They could also enlist the support of unemployed family members to help with the building work, thus saving on costs and giving an honourable dig out to siblings.

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HOLA442

I turned down a very good permie IT role in Dublin this week - I was partly attracted by the house prices, but I was very concerned by the increasing levels of taxation there and the possibility of the likes of HP, Google, etc, bailing out of Eire sooner than later.

It would be just my luck to take such a role in Dublin, buy a cheap house and then discover that the Yank tech firms are leaving for, um, Wales!

:lol::o:blink::(

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HOLA443
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HOLA444

I turned down a very good permie IT role in Dublin this week - I was partly attracted by the house prices, but I was very concerned by the increasing levels of taxation there and the possibility of the likes of HP, Google, etc, bailing out of Eire sooner than later.

It would be just my luck to take such a role in Dublin, buy a cheap house and then discover that the Yank tech firms are leaving for, um, Wales!

:lol::o:blink::(

You have to be nuts to take a job in a foreign county and buy a house.

No reason for turning down the job though

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HOLA445

You have to be nuts to take a job in a foreign county and buy a house.

No reason for turning down the job though

Well, they wanted a long-term commitment... Of course, corporates don't offer you such a thing in return. They can change their plans tomorrow and you are out of the door.

So you have to weigh up costs, friendships, quality of life, etc, etc, etc, - so many factors to consider... but, of course, they want you to make life altering decisions within hours.

This week I have had;

1. Telecom in Singapore offering me a permie job - can I start Monday?

2. Several IT contracts in other parts of the UK - Aberdeen for one - and across Europe such as Rome, again - can you start next week. One wanted me

I know that some contractors think you should just pick up sticks and move at the drop of a hat, but I personally do not go along with that attitude, especially having been bitten in the past by ending up working for incompetent bosses or incompetent organisations a long way from home.

Frankly, the sort of organisations that have to have a boy start tomorrow prove to me, IMPO, just how badly run they are at corporate or departmental level.

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HOLA447

Well, they wanted a long-term commitment... Of course, corporates don't offer you such a thing in return. They can change their plans tomorrow and you are out of the door.

So you have to weigh up costs, friendships, quality of life, etc, etc, etc, - so many factors to consider... but, of course, they want you to make life altering decisions within hours.

This week I have had;

1. Telecom in Singapore offering me a permie job - can I start Monday?

2. Several IT contracts in other parts of the UK - Aberdeen for one - and across Europe such as Rome, again - can you start next week. One wanted me

I know that some contractors think you should just pick up sticks and move at the drop of a hat, but I personally do not go along with that attitude, especially having been bitten in the past by ending up working for incompetent bosses or incompetent organisations a long way from home.

Frankly, the sort of organisations that have to have a boy start tomorrow prove to me, IMPO, just how badly run they are at corporate or departmental level.

I do this for a living. Worked in 9 countries on 4 continents.

Do NOT ever ever buy a house in foreign climes NO MATTER what they say or how you feel.

Women, tax, FX rates and economic forces will hold you to ransom.

Why do the stupid British always want to own a friggin house ?

The sooner you view housing as toxic to your wealth, the better.

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HOLA4410

For all the 'house prices down 54% since peak" talk in RoI, when i look on daft.ie, property still looks horribly expensive overthere.

Their bubble must have been something else. Plus there seems to be a mass hangover of excess development.

Why houses arent selling for £10-20k, like they are in the ghost towns in US, i dont know...i thought they were all emigrating again.

I mean look at this, £200k for a miserable little terrace in a provincial town. Hardly US style value, is it?

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=590928

Dont know where the Irish get their HPI figures from.

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HOLA4411

For all the 'house prices down 54% since peak" talk in RoI, when i look on daft.ie, property still looks horribly expensive overthere.

Their bubble must have been something else. Plus there seems to be a mass hangover of excess development.

Why houses arent selling for £10-20k, like they are in the ghost towns in US, i dont know...i thought they were all emigrating again.

I mean look at this, £200k for a miserable little terrace in a provincial town. Hardly US style value, is it?

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=590928

Dont know where the Irish get their HPI figures from.

+1

And Dublin, and other Eire towns, are still horribly expensive for general cost of living apart from housing. This when Eire still has incredibly low corporation tax to keep the Googles, HPs, etc, there.

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HOLA4412

For all the 'house prices down 54% since peak" talk in RoI, when i look on daft.ie, property still looks horribly expensive overthere.

Their bubble must have been something else. Plus there seems to be a mass hangover of excess development.

Why houses arent selling for £10-20k, like they are in the ghost towns in US, i dont know...i thought they were all emigrating again.

I mean look at this, £200k for a miserable little terrace in a provincial town. Hardly US style value, is it?

http://www.daft.ie/s....daft?id=590928

Dont know where the Irish get their HPI figures from.

It is mentioned in the article...

Now, first-timers have been saving more thanks in part to lower rents. They are also applying for mortgages of only about 83pc of the price of the home. Furthermore, with prices down by between 40 and 60pc, the average house price is now only 5.28 times the average industrial wage.

Mortgages

Back at the peak of the market it was practically double this, at 10.39 times the average industrial wage. Which goes to show how much more affordable homes have become in the last five years.

At 5.28 times income, property in the UK is more affordable on average as its on average 5.1 times income....

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HOLA4413

It is mentioned in the article...

Now, first-timers have been saving more thanks in part to lower rents. They are also applying for mortgages of only about 83pc of the price of the home. Furthermore, with prices down by between 40 and 60pc, the average house price is now only 5.28 times the average industrial wage.

Mortgages

Back at the peak of the market it was practically double this, at 10.39 times the average industrial wage. Which goes to show how much more affordable homes have become in the last five years.

At 5.28 times income, property in the UK is more affordable on average as its on average 5.1 times income....

lol, so basically celebrating that where as a couple of years ago property was otherworldy expensive, now its just globally expensive...

Ive seen some reasonable new builds for sale looking futher on daft.ie, for around e125-200k, but they all appear to be unfinished and probably unmortgagable. Also many have concrete build, not sure if thats common over there, wouldnt be normal here?

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HOLA4414

lol, so basically celebrating that where as a couple of years ago property was otherworldy expensive, now its just globally expensive...

Ive seen some reasonable new builds for sale looking futher on daft.ie, for around e125-200k, but they all appear to be unfinished and probably unmortgagable. Also many have concrete build, not sure if thats common over there, wouldnt be normal here?

What do you mean by concrete build, concrete blocks or reinforced concrete or what?

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HOLA4415
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HOLA4416

A bit of advice to our Celtic Cousins

You would have to be off your rockers in Ireland to buy a house whilst your country is under attack from the financial facist IMF dictators!

They wreck countries in their greed to parasitically suck the lifeblood out of countries already on their knees (very clever as they can cover up their evil deeds by saying the country was on it's last legs anyway.)

They can dictate policy and force your Govt/leaders into allsorts of financial trickery - the usual one is doubling the Interest rates you have to pay them overnight whilst they tell the Govt to cut Welfare and medical aid for the poorest.

Don't buy whilst you are under the clutches of the IMF!

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HOLA4417

Some handsome homes coming up for auction at the ALLSOP auction...

arbpl43.jpg

7.8% YIELD IF SOLD FOR RESERVE.

http://www.auction.co.uk/irish/LotDetails.asp?A=738&MP=24&ID=738000043&S=L&O=A

http://www.auction.co.uk/irish/LotDetails.asp?A=738&MP=24&ID=738000031&S=L&O=A

Same, but untenanted. Looks nice on streetview in a kind of clean, soulless american way (pretty much what im looking for in the UK :lol: ) Also seems even large detached newbuilds in Ireland never have Garages with the homes. Odd. Also note the GB numberplate on the white citroen ZX on the left...failed brit property portfolio..?

arbpl38.jpg

Looks a lot more spacious on streetview than you would get here for e95 or c£80k, be interesting to see how this auction goes, although i guess both of those homes are 50+ miles from Dublin with no big towns providing employment nearby.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Park+Gate,+Tullow,+Ireland&aq=3&sll=52.804629,-6.745563&sspn=0.007005,0.01929&gl=uk&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Park+Gate,+Tullow,+County+Carlow,+Ireland&ll=52.805724,-6.722729&spn=0.007005,0.01929&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=52.805724,-6.722729&panoid=4h15A92qvM91ld2qHmWrDQ&cbp=12,350.74,,0,11.71

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HOLA4418

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