COMMUNITY NOTES: BALLYHAUNIS - WESTERN PEOPLE (SEPTEMBER 30 EDITION)
American buyers are showing increased interest in property in the Ballyhaunis area. Local estate agent Gerry Coffey said he has seen a surge in interest from buyers seeking to leave America due to disaffection and worry over the country’s political direction.
A client looking at properties in the Ballyhaunis area told Coffey he “doesn’t know what’s going on in America, there’s uncertainty”. The auctioneer said American buyers, like those from elsewhere, are drawn to “better value” in terms of house prices in the Ballyhaunis and Castlerea areas which have both ranked among the cheapest eircodes in Ireland for house prices in recent years.
Another American client of Coffey is seeking to purchase a property in Ireland “because his partner has a green card and he’s afraid of what can happen”. That’s a reference to recent apprehensions and deportations of green card holders by immigration agents in America since the Trump administration took power.
US clients have also said they’re worried about violence and gun crime in America, according to Coffey who now sees the surge in American interest as potentially a mirror of the influx of British buyers post Brexit.
“The British demand for Irish property is not as good as it was, a lot moved after Brexit but now they’ve accepted it and it’s settled down,” he explained.
Coffey said the latest influx are far more realistic about their plans to buy in Ireland.
“They are putting offers in, real offers. They’re phoning you when in Ireland, before they called from New York, they had a very romantic view of Ireland.”
Another Ballyhaunis-based estate agent has also had American interest.
“I won’t say there is a big influx,” said estate agent Kevin Kirrane who said his agency has made sales to several American buyers recently. “Wealthy retired couples are probably the [Americans] most likely to come to Ireland.”
