House Price Register and regulation is the key to a more transparent property market

Property values continued to decline in the West during 2011 but new measures including a new House Price Register and enhanced regulation in the sector should benefit the public in 2012 and beyond writes Jeff Smith, Chairman of the Western Region of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland.

The latest property market review by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (formed in April of last year following a merger of the Society of Chartered Surveyors and the Irish Auctioneers & Valuers Institute (IAVI)), shows that the average price for a second-hand three-bedroom semi-detached home in the West fell by 15 per cent in 2011. This follows a 16 per cent decline in 2010 and the same previously in 2009.

Respondents to the survey did note, however, that cash buyers were increasingly active in the market and were looking for value. The rental market in West remained active albeit there was an average decline of around six per cent in market rents for residential property. While the commercial property market experienced another difficult year, prime retail rents in the West remained some of the highest in Ireland, outside of Dublin.

The agricultural land market performed well in 2011. According to the survey, the national av¬erage price for agricultural land in Ireland per arable acre is around €10,000 with prices ranging from around €3,500 per acre for lesser quality land to around €12,000 per acre for better locations.

Common themes emerged throughout the survey. These included the negative impact that the uncertainty in the wider economy was having on the property market as a whole. The lack of availability of finance in the market was another critical issue that was highlighted as hampering any recovery in the market.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.