David McDonnell, with Deirdre Phelan and Barry Herterich of Property Partners Phelan Herterich (picture from before Covid-19)
A Waterford auctioneer says they're seeing an increase in the numbers of people who have no links to Waterford moving here.
Latest figures from MyHome.ie show that searches for houses in Waterford have doubled, compared to this time last year.
Within Waterford, Dungarvan and Dunmore East are proving the most popular search areas, with 2 and a half times the level of interest.
Deirdre Phelan from Property Partners Phelan Herterich said the property market locally has been performing well since restrictions were eased in June.
"We would have always come across people moving, for example from Dublin but in the main, they would have been people where one party was from Waterford and maybe they had small kids and they were at a point when they wanted to move back here.
"Now we're coming across a significant number of buyers from Dublin who have no link to Waterford City at all.
She says the pandemic has a role to play in this.
"Covid-19 has afforded them some time out to reassess what is important to them, what is the quality of life that they have in Dublin? They are allowed to work from home in the longer-term now and they see that there are options out there.
"They look at Waterford and they see that it is so much more affordable to purchase than Dublin, the commute time is non-existent and for people who have to go to Dublin once or twice a week it's very doable because of the motorway."
