PROPERTY SALES IN commuter counties have jumped by at least 5%, according to a new study. 

The rising number of sales in the counties around Dublin continues an ongoing trend as home-buyers seek out more affordable properties outside the city. 

The data, compiled by property website MyHome.ie from the Property Price Register, shows a significant spike in property sales in eight Leinster counties in 2019 compared to the previous year. 

The largest increase was in Wicklow, where the number of property sales jumped by 21.5% from 1,621 sales in 2018 to 1,969 sales in 2019. 

However, there was only an incremental increase in sales nationwide, rising by 1.6% from 57,206 sales to 58,109 in 2019. 

Housing has been a major talking point in recent weeks, as Fine Gael defended its record on home-building during the election campaign. 

A report earlier this week from Daft.ie found that the average national rent price had decreased for the first time in seven years. 

Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie, said that the “affordability of properties in the counties around Dublin is proving to be extremely popular”. 

The trend, she said, was especially pronounced among first-time buyers who, Keegan said, “are constrained due to the Central Bank’s mortgage lending rules”. 

“It is good to see new building starts in these counties have also continued, bringing more homes on the market where they are badly needed,” she added. 

Dublin

The rise in sales in the commuter counties was not mirrored across the country. 

In Dublin, the number of sales in the city has fallen by 2.2%

Sales fell from 18,654 in 2018 to 18,247 in 2019 in Dublin, which is responsible for almost a third of sales in the Irish property market. 

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The study also found that just under half of all money spent in the residential property market, €9.11 billion, was spent in Dublin. 

It also found that the total value of property sales last year was €1 billion higher than in 2018, rising to €17.88 billion. 

In Cork, there was a more significant rise as the number of property sales rose by 5.9%. 

Lowest number of sales

Alongside Dublin, sales also fell in several counties include Carlow, Cavan, Kerry and Roscommon. 

In Monaghan, the county with the lowest number of sales, the number of property transactions fell by 10.9% between 2018 and 2019. 

In Tipperary, Waterford and Limerick sales all remained flat, with little change between 2018 and 2019.