DNG Research Indicates Hardly 40 Percent Of New Dublin Homes

DNG research indicated that last year, four out of every ten houses sold across the country changed hands as a form of a bundle of multiple houses, which was a part of the transaction.

The “block sales” consisted of selling 7,306 new units which was confirmed by new DNG research as the agents were on the field for a comprehensive survey.

(Also read: House Prices Touch Approximately 9% Inflation Till June, Said CSO)

Block sales buyers for the new Dublin home usually inculcate non-household organisations like Approved Housing Bodies, investment funds and other financial enterprises. They also include charities and local authorities who are on the lookout for such housing schemes.

It implies that individual private buyers only comprised 58 per cent of the new home sales, which were 9,201 units in reality.

Last year in Dublin, the non-household sector bought even more new homes as part of block sales, which was recorded higher at 61 per cent.

The individual buyers of Dublin homes were only left with less than 40 per cent of the homes as a total of 3,428 out of 5,752 new homes exchanged hands with the non-household sector. The remaining 2,116 homes were given to the individual buyers, which is a lesser percentage observed than before.

County Cork witnessed a higher clock sales rate as one in every four homes was sold via such transaction in 2023. As a result, the total units sold were 457.

The percentages of block sales for other regions are Galway, 27 per cent and Limerick, 55 per cent.

County Kildare is assumed to be the luckiest in terms of home sales to individual buyers in 2023. The highest volume of new homes was sold to private buyers, which is almost three-quarters of the total units sold.

DNG research not in line with PPR data

Additionally, DNG research mentioned that the number of transactions for new homes is recorded lesser than what it should be. The Property Price Register (PPR) data was inspected and the results came out different.

DNG assumed that almost 30 per cent of the new homes sold are not registered properly on PPR every year as per the requirement. It could be due to the block sales feature as the sale of multiple houses is registered as one in PPR transactions.

PPR did not capture last year’s sales of 5,163 homes of black sales, as cited by the New Homes Transactional Analysis Report with an example. It is inferred that almost 30 per cent of the sales are not recorded well in 2023’s data.

DNG research suggested that 11,876 new units were officially registered in PPR that were sold during a one-year time period.

An additional of those that were not registered brought the total up to 17,039, according to DNG research findings.

DNG Director of Research, Paul Murgatroyd said that the analysis of the transactions from PPR clearly demonstrated that the registered sales are under-reported. The actual volume of new home sales is overshadowed by the block sales which is causing a discrepancy in the data.

“Block sales of multiple units to one buyer in one transaction accounted for 42 per cent of all the new home sales in PPR last year”, the director said. It is calculated that only six homes out of ten were bought by the private buyers, the director explained.

DNG CEO, Keith Lowe, elucidated that the government has put in effort to provide ease to individual buyers. The Help to Buy tax credit of €30,000 is a significant initiative for the new buyers, the CEO said.

However, the price for new Dublin homes needs to be increased after DNG’s findings, the CEO confirmed.