This article is from page 4 of the 2013-03-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
KILKEE is the cheapest place to own a home in all of Ireland, according to the house tax guidelines as set out by Revenue.
According to Revenue’s controvertial new property valuation guide, all properties in Kilkee have an average guide value between € 0 and 100,000 – or the lowest valuation possible.
Revenue’s interactive pricing guide divides Clare into 156 different pricing areas. Each area is giving a specific price guide for apartments, terraced houses, bungalows, semidetached houses and detached houses built either before or after 2000. Kilkee is the only area in Clare, and indeed in Ireland, to receive the lowest possible valuation (between € 0 and € 100,000) in each of the categories.
This guideline valuation would seem at odds with the state of current property prices in the West Clare town. According to the Daft.ie property site, of the 83 properties currently for sale in Kilkee, 55 are on offer at prices in excess of € 100,000.
Indeed, over a quarter of the total stock currently for sale in Kilkee is valued at € 200,000 or more with a large number of properties in the area with valuations close to half a million euro.
The valuation system has come in for much criticism since it went live last week but a revenue spokesperson has stressed that the prices are only a guideline and homeowners must pay what they believe to be the market value of their home.
“The guidance is primarily based on the market value of properties sold since the year 2010 in the area, adjusted for average price movements in the interim,” said a Revenue spokesperson.
“This guidance will be helpful in the majority of cases but there are always properties in an area that differ from the average.
“Self assessment requires property owners to honestly assess the market value of their own property. If a property is smaller or larger than the average for the area, is in a significantly poor state of repair or has exceptional or unique features, these will have to be factored into the assessment.”
While the local prices differ de- pending on the type of property in each area, the Revenue’s valuations have identified a 29 area ‘golden zone’ stretching from the hinterland of Ennis down through South-East Clare and into Limerick where they believe properties are generally worth more. Ennis itself is divided into four areas with the northern quarter, identified as Ennis Urban No.1, generally having a higher value than the other three quarters of the town. Tue19March13