ASKING PRICE INFLATION for homes is rising at the fastest pace in 18 months, according to the latest property price report from MyHome.ie and Bank of Ireland.

The Q1 2024 report, published this morning, found that the annual asking price inflation was 6.5% nationwide. The last time this annual figure was higher was in Q3 2022, when inflation was 7.8% nationwide.

Annual asking price inflation in Dublin has now accelerated to 7.2%, outpacing the 5.5% figure in the rest of Ireland.

“The message from this quarter’s MyHome.ie report is that the housing market is heating up again,” report author Conall MacCoille, chief economist at Bank of Ireland, said. 

The report also found asking prices rose by 2% on the quarter nationally, by 2.3% in Dublin and by 1.7% outside the capital.

This means the median asking price for homes nationally in the first quarter of this year was €340,000. In Dublin, it was €425,000 and elsewhere around the country it was €285,000.

In early 2024, houses were being sold for 4.6% over the original asking price, at the median. This is a stark change to one year ago, when the median premium was just 1%.

Just 0.9% of homes listed for sale on MyHome.ie cut their asking price to secure a sale in Q1.

The average first-time-buyer in the first half of 2023 had an income of €88,258, up 6.7% from €82,641 in the first half of 2022. As a result, the average mortgage approval for house purchase rose above €300,000 for the first time at the end of 2023, up 6.4% on the year.

The number of properties listed for sale on MyHome.ie has hit a fresh record low of 10,935. This is below even the Covid-19 trough of 11,200, and down 19.5% on the year.

The report noted, however, that homebuilding activity continues to pick up. There were 7,056 housing starts in the first two months of 2024, up 72% on the same period in 2023.

“In summary, there has been no let-up in demand, and with the supply situation still difficult, it is not too surprising that house price inflation has regained momentum,” MacCoille said.

“We expect to see a mid-single digit rise in Irish house prices in 2024, close to 4%.”