The average price of a house is now almost €24,000 higher than it was a year ago, with the rise in prices more pronounced outside of city areas.
As the Irish Examiner reports, the latest quarterly sales report by Daft.ie, covering the third quarter of this year, shows a national increase in prices of 9 per cent compared to 12 months ago, but it also notes that house price inflation is at 13 per cent outside the largest urban areas.
In the cities, the average price of a property in Dublin is now €399,323 – up 4.9 per cent from a year ago, while the average price in Cork City is €307,464 – up 5.8 per cent.
In Galway City, the average cost of a property is €316,060, an increase of 3.1 per cent, while the year-on-year rise in Limerick and Waterford is even more pronounced: an increase of 8.4 per cent in Limerick to an average price of €230,585, while in Waterford the average price rose by 6.3 per cent in the same period to €204,759.
Housing prices nationally rose by 1 per cent between June and September this year, but the report indicates that while price inflation is slowing generally, county areas have seen increases to varying degrees not matched in city areas.
Annual increases
For example, in Cork county, prices in the third quarter of 2021 were 13 per cent higher than a year previously, compared to a rise of less than 1 per cent seen a year ago. The average price of a home is now €258,000.
According to the report: “Outside the main cities, inflation remains significantly higher, with prices rising by an average of 12.9 per cent year-on-year. The largest annual increases were in Mayo and Leitrim, where prices are more than 20 per cent above their level a year ago.”
The author of the report, Trinity College Dublin economist Prof Ronan Lyons, said: “The latest signals from the sales market suggest that, thankfully, the worst of the Covid-19 squeeze has passed. Inflation has eased a bit and there has been a modest improvement in the number of homes available to buy at any one point.”
He welcomed Government's 'Housing for All' plan but said construction costs, which are “the key determinant of viability” do not appear to be on policymakers’ radars.
Prof Lyons said underlying issues remain, including an overall shortage in available properties, with stock for sale still well below pre-Covid-19 levels.
