Irish Wealth Report H2 2018 | Daft.ie

Property matters. Accommodation is the biggest chunk of our spending as consumers - not just in Ireland but in most high-income countries.

And real estate is typically the biggest asset on our balance sheets. About two thirds of households in Ireland own the home they live in. For them, their dwelling is both something they get use out of every day and something that they may be able to depend on later to provide for them or their loved ones.

Englinton Road in Donnybrook is now ireland's most expensive street

The average property nationwide was worth almost €257,000 in the third quarter of 2018, up from a low of €165,000 in early 2013. Accounting for the new homes built since the last Census, there is now almost €450 billion of housing wealth in Ireland.

This is over twice the combined market capitalisation of the 50 or so firms listed on the Irish stock exchange. And our housing wealth is also larger than our annual income: Irish GDP was estimated to be just under €300bn in 2017. Something to remember when people call for a wealth tax!

Ireland's entire residential market increasing by €150 million everyday

Unsurprisingly, the country's housing wealth is concentrated in cities. Urban Dublin makes up less than 1% of the land mass of the country but is home to over 40% of its housing wealth. The other four cities bring the urban share to roughly half. This is perfectly normal and indeed probably less stark than other countries, where greater populations drive even greater land values in the most desirable locations.

Changes in housing wealth can tell us about important changes underway in the economy. Donegal now has two of the cheapest ten markets in the country, with the Lifford/Raphoe area joining Bundoran in that list. This tallies with other evidence that Brexit-related uncertainty has taken its toll on the northern market.

Estimated number of residential property millionaires by area

The Daft.ie Report typically thinks of the country as broken up into 54 different markets: the 22 postal districts of Dublin, North, South and West Dublin, the four other cities, and then the 25 other counties (excluding the city areas).

The big gainers over the last five years remain previously unfashionable areas in the Greater Dublin area: Dublin 1, Dublin 8 and Dublin 10 now rank nine, eight and seventeen places higher in the list of 54 markets around the country, compared to five years ago. Westmeath and Louth - both in Dublin's commuter belt - rank nine and seven places higher.

The markets that have slipped down the rankings are Tipperary, Limerick county, Kerry - and Donegal. These markets are up to ten places lower in the rankings than five years ago.

Millionaires row Sandycove

The report also provides an estimate of the total number of property millionaires in Ireland. For each of the 389 micro-market in the country, the average value of 25 main property types, from 1-bed apartment to 5-bed detached, is calculated. Of those almost 10,000 property segments around the country, 56 had an average value of at least €1m - up from 43 18 months ago.

To take one example, the South Dublin mountains - including the area of Rathmichael - has joined the ranks of the country's most expensive markets. It is estimated that there are now almost 200 dwellings worth a million or more in the area.

On average 17 residential properties worth 1 million or more are sold every week

Using Census information and the Daft.ie listings archive, it is estimated that there are in total almost 5,300 property millionaires across these 56 market segments. Being based on averages, other exceptional properties scattered around the country are not included. Nonetheless, compared to 4,850 millionaires six months ago, it suggests that the housing market is creating seventeen new property millionaires each week!