Thank you to everyone who took part in our successful ‘The 12 Rooms of Christmas’ competition. It was great fun and wonderful to see so many people get involved. Now for the BIG announcement we have all been waiting for…

See below the list of days from 1-12 with the winners name next to it. 

If you see your name on the list, get in touch with us via PM on our Facebook page or by calling us on 053-9421718, alternatively you could email us at gorey@kinsellaestates.ie. 

List of winners: 

2/12 Day one – Hallway Winner: Aoife Dillon

3/12 Day two – Dining Room Winner: Dermot Kelly

4/12 Day three – Bathroom Winner: Mary O’ Neill

5/12 Day four – Pet’s corner Winner: Betty Moorehouse

6/12 Day five – Garden Winner: Emma Roche

9/12 Day 6 – Bedroom Winner: Ken Mernagh

10/12 Day 7 – Kitchen Winner: Mary Collins

11/12 Day 8 – Home Office Winner: Josephine Doyle

13/12 Day 9 – Playroom Winner: Darren Redmond

14/12 Day 10 – Sitting Room Winner: Eilish Kenny

16/12 Day 11 – Garden Shed Winner: Magda Branka

17/12 Day 12 – Utility Room – Winner: Mary Gregan Kinsella

Congratulations to all our winners and thank you to everyone who took part. 

From everyone at Kinsella Estates we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Gorey town was awarded the “Regional Category Winner” for 2019 at the Bank of Ireland National Enterprise Town Awards.  The awards were held last week at Lyrath Estate Hotel in Kilkenny and the awards recognise the spirit of enterprise in local areas across Ireland, bringing business and community groups together to showcase their efforts to build an economically sustainable community. The annual awards are now in their fourth year and have been a huge success. 

Kinsella Estates are proud to be situated in the well-established and wonderful town of Gorey. It is a place that is bustling with a great sense of community spirit which obviously, helped in its drive to win such a coveted award. Well done to the locals who showcased the best of Gorey and worked together when the judges visited the town a few months ago.  The judging panel were treated to a guided tour of the town which showed the local community as well as the tremendous businesses that Gorey has to offer. 

The awards are competitive and for Gorey to win such an honourable prize shows how hard our communities work and the standard of shops, facilities, amenities and businesses in the area. This award signifies a huge boost to the town, especially as we head towards a busy time of year and one that is magical and enjoyable. 

Other regional winners on the night included, Rathcoole, Dundrum, Tallaght, Adare, Cahir, Kinsale, Ennis, Borris, Bagenalstown, Kilkenny, Belmullet, Carndonagh, Tuam and Sligo, which each of the winners winning cash prizes of €3,000. According to thinkbusiness.ie, since the inaugural awards in 2016, more than 100 towns, urban areas and villages across the country have shared €500,000 in funding to invest in their community. This year 107 towns and villages from almost every county nationwide submitted entries. Kilkenny emerged victorious from close to 70 communities around Ireland and was named the overall winner of the Bank of Ireland National Enterprise Town Awards 2019.

Well done to all the winners but especially to our wonderful town of Gorey!

For a full list of the winners check out thinkbusiness.ie here

Full details here.

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 www.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

Selling your home, holiday home, investment property or perhaps an inherited house or land can be daunting.  With so many questions and so much  – often conflicting – information out there (online or chats over the garden fence), it can be difficult to get straight answers.  When you are thinking of selling, straight answers are exactly what you need.  Property valuations that are too vague, or too general, or that carry lots of exceptions and exclusion clauses are just not helpful.  What you need is local insight that tells you not only the likely open market value of the property today, but more importantly, you need insights into local supply and  demand.  This is the difference between listing your property and actually selling your property – we’re guessing that once you have made the decision to sell, you want to get things moving!

Unlike when dealing with an investment or inherited property, the biggest factor in the decision to sell your home should not be market conditions.  Certainly, it is important to be aware of current market performance and undoubtedly, there are times when the market trends favour the buyer moreso than the seller, and vice versa, but none of this is more important than your personal, family and financial position.

As your estate agents, our first step  generally is to arrange to do a walk-though of your property.  This helps us to get specific in terms of the market valuation, but it does so much more than that. It is at this point where we use our experience and expertise to help you, as a seller, prepare your home or investment property for the market and a few weeks of viewings. Long gone are the days when sellers can list a property ‘as is’ just to test the market.  The rise in property technology, the increased pace of life and competition in the marketplace all mean that sellers usually only have one opportunity to impress potential buyers in person.  In fact, getting them inside the property requires great photos/videos/3D tours and great copy (which is why you need a great estate agent!).  For this reason, it is recommended that any little fixes around the house are done prior to getting the photographs taken for the brochure and online listing, and certainly before opening up the property for viewings.

Sellers must not underestimate the importance of preparing the property and this is equally true for the photography and video (or virtual reality tours) as it is for viewings.  A bright, airy and freshly painted entrance sets a positive tone for the rest of the home.  Stylish furnishings that are consistent with the age/type of property are great but a deep cleaning and decluttering session will go a long way towards impressing house-hunters – as will sparkling windows and neutral tones throughout.

For many people, buying and selling their home coincides with other big life events, like changing careers, getting married, starting/growing a family or perhaps downsizing as our children grow up and leave home.  This undoubtedly adds to the pressure, confusion and perhaps feelings of overwhelm.  As this is such a big decision, we understand the importance of getting it right.  Taking the time to discuss your overall plans will help your estate agent to guide you in the right direction.   It is never recommended to make quick decisions in reaction to sudden life changes, but sometimes it has to happen like that.  Having a good relationship with your agent will make the transition smoother.

If you are considering selling in the South Wicklow and North Wexford areas, call into one of our offices located in Carnew and Gorey and chat to any of our team or contact us online.  We are happy to facilitate overseas buyers and sellers via Skype or similar outside of regular office hours.

For specific queries or to speak with a local property expert about your buying and selling needs in Wexford, Wicklow and surrounding areas, contact Michael, Alan or Eileen Kinsella at kinsellaestates.ie . 

Email me directly on michael@kinsellaestates.ie or telephone : +353 53 94 21718       

Every few months,  the team here at Kinsella Estates bring you the round up of property statistics and trends from the previous quarter but this week we have even bigger news.  The Central Statistics Office , or CSO, have released a special housing report, based on the latest census figures.  This is a big deal as it offers an insight into the market and key measurements  that we only get once every five years and for those who have been watching the market over the last five years, you will know that there have been lots of changes – good and bad.  This is the first such report since the market started to recover in 2012 and it definitely going to cause a bit of trouble as it contradicts new housing supply numbers released earlier this year by the Department of Housing.

The report covers total housing stock levels, new builds completed and the changing patterns of renting, for example, the trend towards older people renting rather than owning their own home. One Irish Times journalist described it as “a picture of everything we wanted to know about the Irish housing crisis but were too afraid to ask”.

Looking at the 12 months up to March  this year, we can see that the overall residential market is  up almost 11%.  Broken down, this translates into increases in the capital of just over 8% while areas – particularly in the west of the country, which was well behind the recovery we have seen here in the south east – have seen house price growth of up to 20% in the last year.  In general, the property market in Ireland  is still about 30% below peak levels last seen in 2007.

In terms of volume, the total number of  homes purchased over the last year (February 2016 to February 2017)  is 37,294.  What is interesting to note is the breakdown by buyer type; only a quarter of all buyers were first-time buyers and less than a quarter were investors or non owner-occupiers.  This means that homebuyers trading up and down, and those buying holiday homes, represent the driving force within the market.  People might be surprised to learn that the average home price in Dublin is now €398,319 and it is difficult to believe that that could have been achieved without the relaxing of the Central Bank lending rules last year and the introduction  of the controversial Help-to-Buy scheme. The average price paid for a  home nationwide is currently €245,165.  In County Wicklow, house prices are the highest outside of Dublin, with an average sale price achieved of €313,023.  Take a look at the image above (figure 3.1) for an indication of where real progress has been felt and where the recovery has effectively bypassed.

Outlook

While it is not good news for house-hunters, property prices are set to increase by double digits again this year.  In fact, Davy Stockbrokers said that 10% is a conservative estimate of future growth this year and the real figure might be much higher.  This will come as a great relief to sellers and homeowners currently caught in the negative equity trap but it raises the ugly question: Is double digit growth sustainable without significant development and can buyers truly depend on new supply coming into the market?  Unfortunately, there is no single answer to this but as the new homes specialists in counties Wicklow and Wexford, Kinsella Estates are in a good position to help would-be buyers identify new developments coming up locally over the next 18-24 months.

For specific queries or to speak with a local property expert about your buying and selling needs in Wexford, Wicklow and surrounding areas, contact Michael, Alan or Eileen Kinsella at kinsellaestates.ie .  Alternatively, you can email me directly on michael@kinsellaestates.ie or telephone : +353 53 94 21718 to arrange a viewing on our qualifying new builds.

It’s that time of the quarter again, lots of property news, results and price reports.  Daft.ie and MyHome.ie are showing average property price increases of almost 10% nationwide.  While the average increase is lower across County Wicklow, this is likely due to fewer transactions and those transactions are coming from an already-high value base.  County Wexford is picking up speed  and this has been one of the busiest quarters that we have seen in years.   In general, house prices are up 40% since the bottom of the market – which is great news for sellers and home owners whose property might be in negative equity but not so good for house hunters.

Added to the usual run of house price news, KBC Bank have published their Homebuyer Sentiment survey.  These type of survey is few and far between as ‘sentiment’ is more difficult to measure than percentages or euro, but the findings are usually more interesting.  And this one doesn’t disappoint.  Key findings include the following:

• Only 49% of Irish consumers are content with their current housing
• 23% are not in a position to purchase despite wanting to
• 28% are considering buying  within the next two years, with half of these actively house hunting
• Of those currently ready to buy,  less than a quarter are investors while the remaining buyers are an equal mix of first-time buyers and those trading up or down

The phrase ‘pent-up demand’ has been thrown around since the confusing days of 2011/2012 and the effects of this have been felt in the market for a few years.  Usually we think in terms of people who are either  looking to buy or to sell; this survey includes homeowners who are trapped in unsuitable and inappropriate housing.

Interestingly, the survey estimates (based  upon  their random sampling) that there are approximately 70,000 would-be buyers ready to hit the market, with a total anticipated demand of 300,000over the next two years.  While we have sufficient zoned land  in parts of County Wexford to deal with short-term future development, the same cannot be said for most of County Wicklow.

All of this activity and these findings are reinforcing the trend for home buyers to look further from the Capital as  they search for their future home.  Improved road infrastructure right through Wicklow from the M50 to Gorey, just over the Wexford border, makes a 45 minute commute possible from  smaller towns like Carnew, Shillelagh and Tinahely.  For people looking for a coastal home, Riverchapel, just outside the seaside town of Courtown, will be an increasingly attractive location.

To view a selection of the properties currently available, visit kinsellaestates.ie

For specific queries or to speak with a local property expert about your buying and selling needs in Wexford, Wicklow and surrounding areas, contact Michael, Alan or Eileen Kinsella at kinsellaestates.ie .  Alternatively, you can email me directly on michael@kinsellaestates.ie or telephone : +353 53 94 21718 to arrange any viewings.

Budget 2017 announced the Help-to-Buy scheme, which has proven controversial within the industry, to help intending first-time buyers to put together the deposit required to purchase or self-build their new house or apartment.

The scheme works by way of an income tax and DIRT tax refund, in respect of payments made over the previous four tax years. There are three types of applicants who can apply for the Help-to-Buy scheme, namely:  retrospective applicants or buyers whose contracts are signed between 19 July 2016 and 31 December 2016; first-time buyers whose contracts are signed between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2019; and first-time self-build applicants building between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2019.

Eligibility:

1. The buyer must be a first-time buyer, specifically, the buyer must not have either individually or jointly with any other person (directly or indirectly), previously purchased, or built a property.  Where more than one individual is involved in purchasing or building a new home, all of the individuals must be first-time buyers.
2. The house or apartment must be a new-build (may be self-built)
3. The purchase must be dated between 19 July 2016 and 31 December 2019
4. The property must have been purchased or built as the first-time buyer’s home and not acquired for investment purposes.
5. The property must be occupied by the first-time buyer, or at least one of the first-time buyers in the case of multiple first-time buyers (a group), for a period of five years.

How to apply:

• Registered for myAccount (PAYE) or ROS (self-assessed)
• PAYE taxpayers will need to complete Forms 12 (available through ROS) for the tax years selected for refund
• Self-assessed taxpayer will need to complete Forms 11 (available through ROS) for each of the four years immediately prior to the claim. Please not that any outstanding taxes must be paid.

    In order to apply for the scheme/refund, buyers must enter the following information online:

• Property details including address and price
• Details of each first-time buyer and refund agreed
• Developer/Contractor details or
• Details of the Solicitor if self-building
• Upload a copy of the signed
• Balance of the deposit to be paid
• Contract completion date
• Mortgage details
• For self-builders, proof of drawdown of the first mortgage tranche payment

All details must be verified by the Developer/Contractor in the case of a new build, or by the purchaser’s Solicitor in the case of a self-build, before the refund can be paid out.

  For further details on the scheme, contact the Office of the Revenue Commissioners

For specific queries or to speak with a local property expert about your buying and selling needs in Wexford, Wicklow and surrounding areas, contact Michael, Alan or Eileen Kinsella at kinsellaestates.ie .  Alternatively, you can email me directly on michael@kinsellaestates.ie or telephone : +353 53 94 21718 to arrange a viewing on our qualifying new builds.

As recovery rolls out across the South East, we look at how the local market performed last year and what we can expect in 2017.

Last year saw the appointment of our new Housing Minister, Simon Coveney and his ambitious plan: ReBuilding Ireland. The unveiling and widespread acceptance of this plan was probably the highlight of the property year – along with a relaxing of the Central Bank mortgage deposit rules –  but there were many, many lows. Without doubt, chronic lack of supply remains the critical issue and this is seen in the rising rental prices, record homelessness and a seeming stalemate within the developer community meaning that new supply remains well below demand for the third consecutive year. In particular, demand for housing in the capital increased by 10% while supply increased by a mere 1%.

Rentals prices increased nationwide by an average of 12% but Dublin and Cork saw increases of double that in key areas. An eleventh hour bill put forward by Minister Coveney – despite opposition from partners in government – aims to slow the rate of increase for the next three years to start with.  Rent caps of 4% per year introduced for the Dublin area are likely to spread to other urban areas over the next few months, north Wicklow will be first in line for that but south Wicklow and Wexford are not expected to face rental caps this year (unless universal application, as called for by Fine Fail, makes its way into legislation).

As for the first time buyers’ help-to-buy tax rebate scheme, whether this is a high point or a low point, really depends upon who you listen to.  The practical reality is that this initiative will only apply to a tiny proportion of buyers in today’s market.  If the government really wanted to impact the market, they would not have taken such a scenic route to avoid the perception of helping the developers.  The truth is that encouraging developers is exactly what is needed to get new housing units delivered as quickly as possible. This is something that the Minister has talked about and he has pledged to address the issue of building costs in the early part of 2017.  One effective way to do this might be to help bring down building costs by reducing the VAT rate, even temporarily, as we saw in the hospitality sector.  Unless building becomes commercially viable for developers and construction companies, there is no reason for them to take the risk.

But this needs to change.

From 2015 to the end of last year, the number of property purchases in Wicklow decreased from 1,402  to 1,271, mainly due to lack of supply rather than lack of demand, as evidenced by the price increases locally. A similar situation was seen in County Wexford where – despite price increases – the volume of transactions were down year-on-year  from 1,663 to 1,471.

With the population in a state of increase, employment continuing its upwards trajectory and mortgage funding in more plentiful supply than we have seen over the past eight years, demand is surging.  But without new housing, there is no way to service this demand.  Until new supply hits the market, prices will increase as competing buyers pay a ‘scarcity premium’ for any available homes in the right areas.

At the moment, for buyers, there are currently fewer than 700 available properties in County Wicklow and just shy of 1,100 available in County Wexford, that’s between six to nine months worth of supply. New homes are needed to bridge the gap between supply and demand as a matter of urgency.

Click here to view all of our new and second-hand homes in Counties Wicklow and Wexford.

For specific queries or to speak with a local property expert about your buying and selling needs in Wexford, Wicklow and surrounding areas, contact Michael, Alan or Eileen Kinsella at kinsellaestates.ie .  Alternatively, you can email me directly on michael@kinsellaestates.ie or telephone : +353 53 94 21718 to arrange a viewing.

Last chance to buy in the current phase

With the supply of new homes running low across the South East, it won’t surprise local house-hunters to see that only one house remains available in the current phase of Riverchapel Wood.
6 The Parade, Riverchapel Wood is situated within walking distance of the scenic Courtown Harbour and many leisure attractions. This developement has proven popular with both homebuyers and investors, with returns almost as attractive as the views!

Number 6 is a spacious three-bedroom semi-detached house in excellent condition throughout, with a bay window and double doors leading onto the rear garden;  Asking price €137,000.

For more details on the property, check out the listing on :- http://www.daft.ie/wexford/houses-for-sale/courtown/6-the-parade-riverchapel-wood-riverchapel-courtown-wexford-1354836/

For specific queries or to speak with a local property expert about your buying and selling needs in Wexford, Wicklow and surrounding areas, contact Michael, Alan or Eileen Kinsella at kinsellaestates.ie .  Alternatively, you can email me directly on michael@kinsellaestates.ie or telephone : +353 53 94 21718 to arrange a viewing.

Here at Kinsella Estates we love what we do and the best part of our day is when we hand new buyers the keys to their dream home!

“Thank you for all work in getting us the keys to our new home.

Michael was very professional and always went above and beyond for us always 

The staff in the office were brilliant and always got back to us.

We would highly recommend Kinsella Estates to anyone buying a new or second home.”