Is Ireland still worthwhile for property investment?
Buying real estate now seems like the smartest move you can make - if you have the means to do it. Of course, where you decide to purchase makes a lot of difference, too.
In this article, we’ll concentrate on the current state of real estate in Ireland. As you will see, as a real estate investor, the outlook on the future of buying property in Ireland is not at all that bleak. On the contrary, Ireland’s status as a relative haven means that investors stand to make a hefty profit in the country’s real estate market.
The Big Picture
Ireland does seem like a place where it still makes sense to buy property. Excellent global economic freedom rating, business-friendly government policies, a prospect of Irish citizenship down the road, and some of the lowest taxes in the EU certainly make Ireland an interesting destination for a real estate investor.
Whether you want to do this because you’re into house-flipping, you’re considering renting out your new property, or you simply want to live in this beautiful country – buying real estate in Ireland can be quite a smart move.
The State of Real Estate in Ireland
… is looking good. The country has had a stable 5% house price increase so far in 2022.
Between September 2020 and September 2021, the prices have already increased 12.4%, partly due to the pandemic and partly due to other global tendencies. (The real estate prices are up everywhere in Europe pretty much.)
That said, the Irish real estate market continues to be quite active and the demand for housing is currently larger than the supply. This is a trend that will likely continue for the foreseeable future.
While this state of affairs doesn’t look too bright for the renters and in many cases landlords, too, investors have some reason to rub their hands.
For investors already owning property in Ireland, now would be a great time to cash in, for example.
Another interesting turn of events would be the emerging government housing intervention which will likely dramatically change the real estate landscape within the next ten years. Namely, as a part of their ‘Housing for All’ plan, the government is looking to build over 300,000 housing units by 2030. (90,000 of these will be dedicated social housing, by the way.)
If you add to this the fact that the Irish population is slowly growing and that it has reached a figure of over 5,000,000 for the first time since 1851, you can see the raison d’être of this governmental effort.
Interestingly, even if this rather ambitious plan does end up working fine, at least when 2022 is concerned, the demand for real estate will still be considerably greater than the current supply.
Residency and Buying Irish Property
One of the boons of investing in Irish real estate many people don’t know about is that other than receiving the ownership of an apartment building or a house in exchange for your money, you might also get the right to naturalize yourself over time and get citizenship.
The thing is, as a part of its (rather successful as it turned out) scheme to attract more foreign investors, the Irish government used to grant anyone who spends upwards of €500,000 the right to become a permanent citizen.
Now, this perk does not exist anymore in its initial form. Since its introduction, this law was tweaked to only allow the holders of these properties the rights of residency.
That said, if you were to invest the 500 grand, you still get a facilitated chance at naturalization, which, in turn – can eventually lead to you getting citizenship after all.
But for the record, once more – this won’t happen overnight.
Who to Talk to If You Want to Invest?
In case you like the idea of investing in Ireland but aren’t sure how to approach this exciting new endeavour, finding a local property company such as the SCK Group can be a great first step.
Hiring a team of local real estate experts can save you a lot of time and money in the long run. Whether you’re looking to become a landlord and need to get acquainted with the local tenant habits and do’s and don’ts, or you’re into house-flipping – getting some advice from folks with first hand-experience and knowledge can be of massive value.
Conclusion
All in all, due to the latest unfortunate events that have been rocking the world for some time now, the entire EU real estate market has gone topsy-turvy in a way.
That said, boasting ambitious governmental housing programs for the future, low taxes, and huge market of potential tenants, the Irish real estate market is still more than worth checking out as a potential real estate investment destination.
