RTE One: [Escaping]This Crowded House

It was great to welcome the RTE ‘This Crowded House’ TV crew, together with house-hunter Alice, down to Tinahely in Wicklow recently. Alice, like many would-be homebuyers, found herself priced out of the first-time buyer market in Dublin and was looking for a more affordable home, in a scenic location, within easy commute of the capital. Unsurprisingly, her search lead her to South Wicklow and North Wexford. Alice’s search is representative of an entire adult generation forced to live at home with parents, unable to access rental accommodation at reasonable prices, yet ready to become home owners.  This would have been considered quite an unusual situation for the Irish marketplace just a decade ago, but today, it is very real.

When living close to the original family home, and indeed close to family, is no longer an option, buyers are advised to put together a list of what is important for them and their family before embarking on the search for a new place to call ‘home’. In my experience, it is less about the property and more about the area. All homes can be modified and improved over time but the area – or ‘location’ –  is the most important element to get right (as it is the most difficult thing to change afterwards!).

One of the suggestions made by the show advisors was for the house-hunter to rent in the area for a year or two before committing to buying.  Certainly, this might be a reasonable option for some, however, for most people, when the time is right to make the move, they want it to be a  permanent one. The notion of a so-called ‘starter home’ is almost gone and this is not necessarily a bad thing. When new buyers settle upon an area, it is usually preceded by months – if not years – of research about local areas, schools, local amenities and much-needed facilities. Most new buyers want to know that the area they are buying into is one poised for positive growth or, bluntly put, it is on the way up and not down. There are a few simple tests for this and a few key indicators like; what is the road infrastructure like? Are large retailers like Tesco/Dunnes opening up? Are secondary schools expanding? Are employment prospects locally improving? And – dare I say it in this week of political controversy – is there quality broadband servicing the area?  All of these are indicative of an area on the up and ought to be considered positive for home-hunters.  Please do let me know any more things that should be added to that list…

Finally, if you are currently faced with making this decision, you might find the following articles useful:

CLICK LINK:  Thinking of Moving to South Wicklow?

and,

CLICK LINK:  Thinking of Moving to North Wexford?

For your FREE, no obligation, valuation in the South Wicklow and North Wexford area, call into one of our offices (located in Carnew and Gorey) and chat to any of our expert team or you can contact us online at kinsellaestates.ie. We are happy to facilitate overseas buyers and sellers via Skype or similar, outside of regular office hours.  Alternatively, email me directly on michael@kinsellaestates.ie or telephone: +353 53 94 21718