A house in the Sun... well, sort of.

The time has come for us to buy a house here. After nearly 5 years in Ireland we are finally in a place where we can - and we'd better do it soon because with house prices having risen on average by about €30,000 in the first quarter of this year, if we don't do it now the market is going to move out of our reach again.

So we've started looking, in earnest. We saw one during the week that we made a tentative offer on. Tomorrow we'll go check out what we think will be that one's opposition. Things work really differently over here though.

In SA, if you want to sell your house you put it on the market and then the buyers beat the price down until you settle on the final amount.
Here, people advertise their house for sale at a minimum price, and then the bidding begins and the price keeps going up until eventually the house goes to the highest bidder. This system definitely does not favour the buyer.
Trouble is, the population here is just exploding - people are moving here in droves and there are just not enough houses to keep up. The amount of construction going on is phenomenal, and still people are queuing in their cars overnight to secure the purchase of houses not even built yet.
It's all terribly frustrating for people like us, who just want to find a home to live in. You'd think it would be easier than this, but finding a house is like hunting for hen's teeth.

But apart from the frustration, I am getting so very excited. If all goes according to plan, then within the next few months we'll be living in our OWN place, with a garden, and I will be able to hang pictures wherever I please, and paint the walls whatever colour I choose, and, and... oh boy, it will be so nice to have our own space!