HOUSE PRICES IN Ireland rose by 3.9% in the 12 months up to March 2023, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) – the lowest rate of increase in nearly two years.

Residential property prices in Dublin rose by 1.7% and prices outside Dublin went up by 5.7% in that time.

The national rate of annual growth was the lowest in 23 months – an increase of 4.5% was recorded nationally in April 2021.

The median price of a house for that period was €310,000. Longford had the lowest median price at €154,000, while the highest median price was in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, at €635,000.

In Dublin, house prices increased by 1.6% and apartment prices went up by 2.1%. The highest house price growth in Dublin was in South Dublin at 6.9%, while Dublin City saw a decline of 1.2%.

Outside Dublin, house prices rose by 5.9% and apartment prices by 2.6%. The region outside of Dublin that saw the largest rise in house prices was the border area (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo) at 8.4%.

The Mid-West (Clare, Limerick, Tipperary) had the smallest hike, at 2.8%.

Households paid a median or mid-point price of €310,000 for a residential property in the 12 months to March 2023. The lowest median price paid for a dwelling was €154,000 in Longford, while the highest was €635,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.

The most expensive Eircode area over the 12 months to March 2023 was A94 (Blackrock in south Dublin), with a median price of €750,000, while F35 (Ballyhaunis in Co Mayo) had the least expensive price of €126,000.

The CSO said 4,132 ‘household’ dwelling purchases occurred in March 2023 – that is, houses not bought by investment firms.