New Yorkers who dream of moving to Ireland can finally realize that dream as an Irish property fair is set to be held in the Big Apple.
Real Estate Alliance (REA), a real estate firm based in Ireland, will bring an exhibition to New York that will feature thousands of Irish properties. The property fair which will be held in the Fitzpatrick Hotel at Grand Central, Manhattan from 5 to 7 in the evening on March 3, will give potential buyers the chance to browse through listings and talk to real estate experts who can help them with offshore investment.
The firm pursued the said initiative because in a nationwide survey, they found that US property buyers are itching to find secure homes and investment properties in Ireland. The strong dollar value and the lure of a good economy made Ireland an attractive destination for foreign investment.
Their survey highlighted that one in six oversease inquiries about Irish property come from the United States. In 2015, the number of inquiries from US increased from zero to a staggering 16 percent.
"While there has always been interest from the US market, this has increased markedly in a year that saw a 22 percent increase in overseas inquiries about Irish property," said Michael O'Connor, Chairman of REA. "Overall, calls from oversease buyers represented 19 percent of all inquiries received by REA agents in 2015 and 16 percent of total sales."
"Forty-nine percent of our inquiries came from UK, 8 percent from continental Europe, 10 percent from Australia, but the real surge in new interest came from the US. The average house price in the US in November was $374,900 (or €341,656), compared to our Average House Price survey national value of €188,370, so there is obvious value for American buyers in Ireland," he explained.
Furthermore, REA agents noted that 31 percent of foreign buyers move to Ireland to live and work, while 29 percent purchase a home for retirement purposes and 20 percent purchase as an investment.