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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk with Aviva Insurance.
Chapter 2: Why are buyers avoiding second-hand homes?
People looking to buy a home seem to be avoiding second-hand homes, according to research from the Real Estate Alliance. Why? Because they're too expensive to renovate and people can't find tradespeople to do the work. I'm joined by T.J. Cronin, Cork-based estate agent and former president of the Society of Chartered Surveyors. Good morning, T.J.,
Good morning, Clare.
Thanks for being with us. Are you seeing this pattern in the market now that people are sort of backing away from second-hand homes that look like projects?
Yes, I have, yeah. I suppose, Clare, in my experience of 30 years in the residential market, when I started out, it was a very clear sort of twin track within the residential market. You had the new home sector and the second-hand home sector. And
you know in the last 20 30 years we've seen a massive increase a dramatic increase in terms of the evolution of buildings within the new home section so as a as a buyer um you know when they're looking to buy they're looking essentially they're looking new home versus second hand but the real The real change in the market, as I mentioned earlier on, 30 years ago, there was a twin track.
It's now a triple track. You have your new homes, you have your secondhand market. It's now subdivided into sort of the higher rated secondhand homes and the lower rated secondhand homes.
So in a sort of very kind of top line look, the new homes today are a very efficient, modern system with the added benefit of the various schemes, help to buy schemes and forced home schemes and so on and so forth. So they give greater, I suppose, access to buyers to buy within the new home section. If you look at the second-hand.
Yeah, sorry to cut across you there, but the second-hand homes, just as you set out there what a new home looks like and everything that comes with it from a financial help perspective, the second-hand market doesn't look very attractive to certainly a first-time buyer.
No, absolutely not. I would say it's a second-hand home. Depending on the profile of the second-hand home, it'll be less attractive as you go down. So, for example, in 2007, there was an introduction of the building integer rating certification scheme.
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Chapter 3: What trends are emerging in the housing market?
And that essentially gave classification to the house in regards to how efficient the house was. And what I'm seeing in the market with the last number of years, and more specifically recently, is that the lower the bar rating, so, you know, your property is going from, let's say, you know, down to G-rated, they require a higher input from the purchaser's point of view.
So with that higher input requirement comes greater cost. So for example, if a person is looking at buying a second-hand home that has a lower energy efficiency rating, it needs a greater amount of work. It needs, you know, I suppose it needs more time. It needs people to be able to acquire the benefit of a builder or tradespeople, which isn't easily attained in today's market.
The cost of that work, is increasing dramatically over the years and continues to increase dramatically over the years.
It's hard to even get a quote, isn't it, TJ?
Chapter 4: How has the residential market evolved over the last 30 years?
It's hard. Yeah, in actual fact, I spoke to a friend of mine on Saturday and he was saying that he's in a house that they want to add on a 22 square metre extension as a playroom and he can't get people to quote because they're just too busy. And they said, like, you know, by the time, if I give you a quote now,
By the time actually I'm available by the end of the year, start of next year, that quote is obsolete. It's obsolete within a couple of months.
You can't even find out what you might be in for. And I have a listener here saying that secondhand houses in Galway City are going sale agreed in two weeks. I'm desperate. Please tell me where your report is coming from. Well, we're not saying that they're not selling, but they just mightn't be the first port of call for buyers who are looking for certainty around what they need to borrow.
Absolutely, absolutely. Look, if as a first-time buyer you decide to buy a new home, the certainty in that, you're buying the property, you know the contract price and you're sure of the calibre and I suppose the the condition of the property that you're buying, okay? And it's future-proofed.
The added advantage of another advantage of new homes is that you're buying a property that's a high buyer rating, so you can qualify for greater, you know, green mortgages or eco-friendly mortgages from the various banks. When you look at the second-hand properties, you're buying a property with the benefit of, you know, a surveyor's structural survey, but that is, you know, superficial.
You don't get into the the warts and all of the building as such, right?
So when you actually get to get into the property, strip it back and get to, you know, for example, look at your heating system, look at your wiring, look at your, you know, insulation, the floor and the attic and so on and so forth and the walls, then and only then will you realize what the true cost of renovations are going to be. So I have
On countless occasions, I have spoken to people, buyers that have bought a property for X, on the presumption that it's going to cost Y to actually bring the house to a certain level. But when the builders get in on site, start stripping back, then the building tells its own tale. And then it can be a very different price in terms of the actual end-day product, you know. Now, I don't want to...
People might expect, though, that because there are so many grants available now to do the BER upgrade, that that might be a consideration as well. Yes, it's going to cost me a lot of money, but I'm going to get a lot of help with this.
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Chapter 5: What are the challenges of renovating second-hand homes?
TJ, we'll leave it there, but thank you very much for your time. I have very many text messages coming in on this. That's TJ Cronin, who's a Cork-based estate agent. A listener says, my daughter bought a home in an older, settled area. It was much better by than a brand new, overpriced house. Another, I bought a new A-rated house. It costs a fortune to run. That's unusual to hear.
My brother bought a second-hand house, upgraded it with grants, has a lower mortgage and has won hands down.
The Clare Byrne Show. With Aviva Insurance.
Weekday mornings at 9 on Newstalk. Conversation that counts.