Hi Bob,
I'm afraid that I am not sufficiently qualified in the property market to advise you on anything more detailed than a few general comments.
To be honest, property investment in Ireland is a very topical question here at the moment. In terms of the UK and Europe, property is probably relatively cheaper but the recent 3-4 years have seen vast gains in property prices (particuarly residential)(e.g. a œ85K 2 bedroom appartment in central Dublin 2 years ago is probably worth >œ150K now). This whole situation is becoming a very political issue since the average house price (particularly in Dublin but becoming more so in the other larger towns - Galway, Limerick, Cork) is now often beyond the finances of the average first time buyers. Also, a large proportion of residential property is being bought for rental investment\capital appreciation rather than residence. Recently the government decided to start to act on this issue in a hope to stall the rising prices of house by removing income tax allowances for non-resident mortgages.
In summary, there are probably opportunities there but I would suggest that investments outside Dublin (Limerick, Cork or indeed smaller towns particularly in midlands - Athlone, Mullingar, Longford) would yield more capital appreciation (Assuming the complete property market does not collapse which is unlikely).
Hope this is of some use,
LK |
