Nenagh auctioneer reveals the town needs at least 150 new houses to be built annually

There were 173 residential sales in the Nenagh area in the year to date according to the Property Price Register, William Talbot of Sherry FitzGerald Talbot, Nenagh, has told the Tipperary Star.

The average price of a three-bed semi-detached in the Nenagh is currently €220-240,000, with an average time from instruction to sale agreed standing at between four to six weeks, he said following a property presentation in the Abbey Court Hotel organised by Sherry FitzGerald offices in Nenagh, Cashel and Thurles.

Things are not so good on the rental side, with just four properties for lease in the Nenagh area according to Daft. The average rent for a three-bed semi-detached house is €900 to €1,100 per month, he said.

Based on figures revealed at the presentation that we will need to see 52,600 houses built nationally to meet current demand, Nenagh, being within the commuter belt of Limerick, certainly needed to be providing much more new housing than it was at present, taking into account a large proportion of local industry is in expansion mode, said Mr Talbot.

“In our view we would need to see approximately 150 new homes built in Nenagh on an annual basis. At present, less than 20% of that is being constructed,” he said.

Asked if the lack of housing was this affecting bringing in new businesses, Mr Talbot said that, personally, he had met employers in industry based in Nenagh who were very concerned about the lack of supply of rental stock to house their employees which would normally be mostly fed from new house construction.

He agreed that Nenagh’s transport links make it an attractive commuter town or place to live.

“We are very well positioned geographically and have ease of access to the M7. This has reduced commuter times considerably. Our rail network will hopefully see further investment in the near future. Our ideal situation would be to have a light rail servicing Roscrea, Cloughjordan, Nenagh, Birdhill to Limerick,” said Mr Talbot.

Nenagh and environs also had the added advantage of having Lough Derg close by, which, he said, was a fantastic boost from a tourism perspective.

In relation to the number of commercial premises vacant around Nenagh, Mr Talbot said that this had reduced over the years.
“Tipperary County Council has been proactive in issuing derelict site notes and rates demands where premises lie vacant. This is very important as it frees up stock for both the residential and commercial market,” he said.

Sherry Fitzgerald Talbot, who employ six people, are a third generation business with William Talbot as Managing Director. The firm was established by William’s grandfather Frank Talbot in 1946. William’s father, William Snr, continued to work in the business up until his retirement in 2019 at the age of 89. The company aligned with Sherry Fitzgerald in 1999.