Are there tentative signs of residential activity picking up?

Ireland’s number 2 property (by number of properties for sale) website myhome.ie has reported that the number of sale agreed properties has risen dramatically (2-3 times) in January and February 2010 compared with a year earlier. The website’s press release is now available. The website reports that sales agreed have been steadily rising since September 2009, a period in which ESRI/Permanent TSB report a 8.5% fall in prices from Sept-Dec 2009 with falls accelerating towards the end of the year – statistics for Jan and Feb 2010 will not be published as they have decided to make the index quarterly with the next release in April 2010. The website emphasises it does not know how many of the “sale agreed ” properties have proceeded to completion though it did make the anecdotal observation that estate agents were being more diligent in ensuring documentation was in place before changing the status of a listing to “sale agreed”.