THE AVERAGE HOUSE price in Ireland has risen by almost 4% in the past year, according to the latest Daft.ie report.
The average price nationwide, based on the 8,200 properties listed in the last 12 months, is now €263,000 – an increase of 3.7% on the previous year.
Dublin was once again the most expensive county to buy a house in, with the average price of a house coming in at €375,862 in the city centre region – up 1.2% on last year, and €388,135 on average in the Dublin county region – up 0.9% on last year.
In Cork, the average price was €253,033 – up 9.3% on 2017 – while Cork city specifically, was up 4.4% on last year at €285,941.
Elsewhere, in Galway, the average price was €205,400 – up 1.7% on last year, while Galway city saw average prices almost €100,000 higher at €305,549.
The cheapest county to purchase a home in, according to analysis for quarter two, was Leitrim at €137,058.
Although the average prices across the country increased, with the exception of Louth which fell by 0.9%, the rate at which they increased year-on-year has fallen.
Ronan Lyons, economist with Trinity College Dublin, and author of the Daft.ie report, said the slowdown in the rate of inflation was a result of more houses being built and entering the market.
The total number of properties up for sale in May was the highest on record for over 10 years.
“The steady improvement in construction activity is finally converting into housing market outcomes.
“Unsurprisingly, with much improved supply, buyers are no longer competing with each other as strongly in the market and inflation has, at least for the moment, largely eased off – especially in the Greater Dublin Area, where construction activity is concentrated.”
New builds
There were 10,300 transactions involving newly-built homes in 2018 – up 16% on the total for 2017.
The typical price for a newly-built home sold in 2018 was €330,000, which was up from the €300,000 price in 2017.
A large majority of the new-build transactions were in the Dublin and commuter areas.
Dublin accounted for 45% of transactions involving new homes in 2018, while commuted counties around Dublin accounted for 26% of new builds.
Lyons said the rate of inflation should continue to slow as long as the supply of new properties entering the market continues.
The report also claimed there was a shortage of some types of homes, which would be needed to address population demographics.
“The expectation would be as long as this continues, and if we don’t expect it to die off anytime soon, we shouldn’t expect to see that much inflation and prices could fall before the end of the year.
It’s not about whether prices are going to come down 10% or 15% because it’s not a bubble that’s burst, it is a shortage of supply that is now being addressed.
“Ireland really needs to learn how to build the full life-cycle of housing. This includes student accommodation and co-living, which – despite all the fuss – remain markets starved of supply,” he added.
Note: Journal Media Ltd has shareholders in common with Daft.ie publisher Distilled Media Group.
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