{"id":237950,"date":"2026-01-10T14:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T14:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/237950\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T14:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T14:34:16","slug":"first-time-buyers-in-wicklow-advised-to-avoid-new-homes-as-prices-for-second-hand-properties-slow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/237950\/","title":{"rendered":"First-time buyers in Wicklow advised to avoid new homes as prices for second-hand properties slow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">House prices in Wicklow continued to rise during 2025, but new data from Daft.ie shows that growth in the county\u2019s core family-home segments lagged the wider Leinster market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">According to the Daft 2025 Q4 House Price Report, overall house prices across Leinster outside Dublin rose by an average of 7.3pc during 2025. In Wicklow, however, growth was significantly lower across key family-home categories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Eugene Dooley of Dooley Poynton Auctioneers based in Wicklow town is predicting a further slow-down in prices of second-hand homes, offering relief to those who simply cannot afford the price of a new house.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cNew houses in good shape will continue to attract premium prices,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, there are still options involving second-hand houses which require refurbishment and renovation works. I don\u2019t see houses in that bracket increasing much, in fact you may even see a slight decrease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Although this presents a window of hope for those struggling to purchase their first home, Eugene warns that there is a catch to the more affordable prices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cIt\u2019s a very difficult time to get a price for refurbishment works or renovation works for a second-hand home, such as windows and new heating and insulation, because contractors are just so busy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">&#8220;Most first-time buyers can\u2019t afford to purchase a new home and don\u2019t qualify to get a mortgage for a three-bed semi valued at around \u20ac500,000. As a result, they may start looking at second-hand homes. The government could help by providing a grant for first-time buyers of second-hand homes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">&#8220;You have a lot of housing stock arriving on the market from probate sales and properties that were previously rented out, and those types of houses will generally require some work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">&#8220;There is also a vacant property grant available offering up to \u20ac50,000 to refurbish properties that have been vacant for more than two years, while grants of \u20ac70,000 are available for derelict properties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Despite the high costs of trying to buy a new home in Wicklow, statistics revealed last week showed around 525 applications for the government\u2019s First Home Scheme, which helps first-time buyers bridge the gap between their mortgage, deposit and the price of a new home, are currently live or have already been drawn down since the funding stream launched in July 2002.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">It\u2019s currently valid for new apartments and houses in Wicklow worth a maximum of \u20ac500,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The average listed price of a three-bedroom semi-detached home in Wicklow last year stood at \u20ac329,000, representing an annual increase of 3.3pc. Four-bedroom semi-detached homes averaged \u20ac393,000, up 2.9pc year-on-year. Both figures are well below the overall rate of growth recorded across Leinster as a whole.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The report also shows the typical price per square metre for a three-bedroom semi-detached home in Wicklow was \u20ac4,650 in late 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The data shows stronger price growth at the upper end of the Wicklow market. Three-bedroom detached homes in the county averaged \u20ac392,000, an increase of 10.2pc, while five-bedroom detached properties reached an average listed price of \u20ac656,000, recording a year-on-year rise of 18.6pc.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Eugene Dooley of Dooley Poynton Auctioneers.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/3a20a508-7f5e-46a6-b8d9-9e2b9d6d242d.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" data-testid=\"article-image\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_caption1 indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_secondary indo-66f0fec7_regular indo-1d70522a_marginbottom0 indo-1d70522a_marginleft0 indo-1d70522a_marginright0 indo-1d70522a_margintop3 indo-b48c4984_left\" style=\"color:var(--color-grey-60)\">Eugene Dooley of Dooley Poynton Auctioneers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">By comparison, Wicklow\u2019s border counties recorded stronger price growth across the same core house types. In Kildare, the average price of a three-bedroom semi-detached home rose by 7.7pc during 2025, while Wexford recorded an increase of 7pc for the same category. In Carlow, three-bedroom semi-detached prices rose by 7.2pc.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">A similar pattern is evident in four-bedroom semi-detached homes. Prices in Kildare rose by 8.4pc, while Wexford saw an increase of 13.8pc and Carlow recorded growth of 1.9pc, compared with a 2.9pc rise in Wicklow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">New rental regulations, effective from March 1, will introduce significant changes for new tenancies, including a six-year minimum duration tenancies, which will strengthen the second-hand market, but may also result in a further reduction in the availability of rented properties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Eugene added: \u201cYou have plenty of landlords who don\u2019t want to be involved in six-year tenancy terms, which will provide more homes for the second-hand market, but will place even more pressure on the rental market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">&#8220;It\u2019s going to be terrible for the rental market, and it will prove almost impossible to get a rental property. However, those lucky enough to secure a rental property will at least have security for six years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">As regards the housing market as a whole, Eugene stated: \u201cThere is a good demand for new houses and they are selling well. I would expect the prices of new homes in Wicklow to rise about 5pc in the year ahead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">&#8220;Wicklow town is still a lot cheaper than south Dublin to purchase a house and over the past number of years there has been a noticeable rise in the number of south Dublin purchasers looking for a home in Wicklow. It generally takes around four weeks for sale to be agreed on a new home, while for a second-hand home it usually involves close to 20 viewings before it is sold.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"House prices in Wicklow continued to rise during 2025, but new data from Daft.ie shows that growth in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,5718,61,60,4657],"class_list":["post-237950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-eoin-mac-raghnaill","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-myles-buchanan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}