24-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Cost of one-bedroom apartments soaring in Wicklow as average hits €191,000
While the average list price of a home in the county is now €454,929, a rise of 13pc compared with a year ago, the price for a one-bedroom apartment has risen by 26.5pc. This compares with a two-bedroom terraced house, which has risen to €250,000, an increase of 13.6pc, while your three-bed semi has risen to €330,000, an increase of 10.4pc.
Commenting on the steep rise for a one-bedroom apartment in the county, Garret O'Bric, from agents HJ Byrne, in Bray, said that one-beds don't come around very often and they are 'a bit of an oddity' in the market, even though they are viewed as a first step on the ladder.
He said the last one-bedroom apartment he sold in Bray, an own-door home in a good location at Wilford Court, fetched well over €300,000.
While it is down to demand, he added that some banks are reluctant to give loans for a one-bed and there is a different loan-to-value on them.
"Most first-time buyers don't really want them because you can't rent out another room, investors don't really want them because they'd rather go for a two-bed. But it's also affordability,' he said. 'It's the low-hanging fruit for people if they are going to get on the ladder.'
Asking prices for houses have soared by an average of 12.3pc nationwide to €357,851 in the past year, according to the House Price Report for Q2. The report also notes that this rate of house-price inflation is the highest since the Central Bank's mortgage-lending rules, which were introduced in 2015.
It means that outside Dublin, Wicklow remains the most expensive county in Leinster to buy a home.
The report also notes that the typical property sells for a price that is 1.1pc below its listing price – but that gap has changed a lot over time. For example, during the period 2010-2012, properties sold on average for 10pc less than their initial listed price.
Across the country, the typical transaction price in the second quarter of 2025 was 6.3pc above the listed price. A year ago, the gap nationally had been 3.5pc, while two years ago, in Q2 2023, the typical transaction price was 1.1pc above the listed price.
However, the second quarter of 2025 saw the highest level of 'market heat' ,measured by the premium paid by buyers above the listed price than at any other time since the start of 2010.
The Daft report author, Ronan Lyons, was quite blunt in his assessment of the current state of the housing market, when he said: 'Ultimately, the market is still starved of supply.'
Remarking that there is 'little to be cheery about', he added that there are simply too few homes on the market at the moment.
"On top of an insufficient number of new homes being built, there are also not enough second-hand homes being traded,' he said. 'In the year to June 1, there were a total of just over 51,000 second-hand homes put on the market. For comparison, in 2019, before all the disruption of Covid, there were almost 67,000 homes put up for sale.'
Scarcity and strong demand will put 'acute pressure on prices', he said.
