Unsurprisingly, the past decade has seen massive emigration
from Ireland. But the movement of people
does not affect all areas equally. Not
only are younger rural dwellers more likely to emigrate, but those who remain
are more likely to move from their local areas into larger towns and
cities. This effectively shifts the
population away from rural areas into the main cities and, in the past, the
only way to halt or reverse this was to encourage large-scale employment in the
rural areas. But as the economy recovers, this trend is starting
to shift slightly. In the last year or
two, we are starting to see the return of our more recent emigrants. Specifically, we are starting to see these
people - who are or have been working on contract basis in the high-tech or
telecommunications sectors in Australia or Asia - plan a return to
Ireland. For some, the move to Ireland
is immediate, for others, they will work abroad for another few years before
returning permanently. For many, they
will continue in their contract roles, with their existing employers after they
return to Ireland. As remote workers,
they can generally work from anywhere in the world.
These buyers are typically Irish, or with an Irish partner, living and
working overseas for much of the past decade and with cash savings in excess of
€50,000. Many have multiples of this
amount and do not require any mortgage funding. While these buyers do not appear in national statistics as first-time buyers, they usually are, and they appear as investors, despite buying the
homes to eventually live in themselves.
What most returning buyers want is a property that will work
as a good investment initially until they return to Ireland, at which time they
need it to function as a home for some length of time. This is a tricky balance to achieve. Generally, a suitable family home will be
more expensive than suitable rental home but will not achieve a higher rental
income. Similarly, an affordable
rental/investment property might not be in the type of setting that makes a
long-term family home. There is certainly
a fine balance with this, and when added to the fact that these buyers tend to
be researching and buying while still overseas, the process can be difficult. One of the major challenges experienced by
buyers overseas is that some auctioneer firms are reluctant to engage with
them or to accept bids from 'unknown' bidders. This can be
frustrating for buyers, especially for those who are unable to get back to
Ireland on a regular basis. The technology
exists for buyers to see the area, the street, the property and full 360 degree
views of every nook and cranny internally; booking deposits can be transferred on-line; buyers,
together with their solicitors, can complete a Power of Attorney to facilitate
conveyancing… There is no reason not to
deal with buyers in Australia in much the same way as we would deal with buyers who walk into our offices!
Here at Kinsella
Estates, we understand that returning buyers have enough on their plates
without trying to master the finer details of sourcing an investment property as
compared with house-hunting for their family home. We now have a dedicated team member, Aisling,
who will be helping remote buyers work through their buying requirements, she can
carry out viewings on their behalf and unlike
other estate agencies, we have adopted a policy of accepting bids from
qualified remote buyers. By ‘qualified
buyers’, we are referring to those who have supplied us with proof of
identification, as required to satisfy anti-laundering legislation, and proof
of funds.
If this is something that you need or are interested in
finding out more about, contact Aisling in our office or you can email me directly on
Michael@KinsellaEstates.ie with
your Skype (or similar) contact details.
