Residential property prices soared by 15.3 per cent in the 12 months to February 2022, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
In Dublin, prices saw an increase of 13.5 per cent, while property prices outside Dublin were 16.8 per cent higher.
House prices increased by 13.6 per cent in the capital and apartment prices rose by 12.8 per cent. The highest house price growth in Dublin was in Fingal at 14.3 per cent, while South Dublin saw a rise of 12.2 per cent.
However, outside Dublin, house prices were up by 16.7 per cent and apartment prices rose by 17.8 per cent.
Residential property prices grew by 15.3% in the year to Februaryhttps://t.co/dJ9sVEt1Oq #CSOIreland #Ireland #Housing #HousingConstruction #HouseBuilding #NewDwellings #PropertyPrices #HousePrices #PlanningPermissions #IrishBusiness #BusinessStatistics #BusinessNews pic.twitter.com/p90DB4AnHk
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) April 14, 2022
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Commenting on the increase, Viacheslav Voronovich, CSO statistician, said:“Households paid a median or mid-point price of €282,000 for a residential property in the 12 months to February 2022.
“The lowest median price paid for a dwelling was €132,750 in Longford, while the highest was €600,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
“The region outside of Dublin that saw the largest rise in house prices was the Border at 26.9 per cent, while at the other end of the scale, house prices in the mid-east increased by 14.5 per cent.”
Existing dwellings accounted for 84.7 per cent of the dwelling purchases filed with the Revenue Commissioners in February 2022. Meanwhile, just 5.3 per cent were new dwellings.
Lack of supply
Trevor Grant, chairperson of the Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors, said that the level of competition and lack of supply is creating real challenges for buyers.
"The one positive is that banks are vying for business – they are looking to lend and are incentivising people to choose them as their mortgage provider," Mr Grant said.
"Candidates who meeting the CBI’s (Central Bank of Ireland) lending rules and who have taken the time to prepare complete applications, can often find themselves with offers from multiple lenders.
"The approval process is also relatively quick with most lenders at the moment – which is music to the ears of anyone who is bidding on a property"
According to Mr Grant, while supply is still a major issue, there is hope of more properties coming onto the market within the next two years, with the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland reporting that more than 50,000 new homes are expected to be built between now and the end of next year.
"The availability of second-hand homes, however, is now at a record low – particularly at the lower value end of the market," he continued.
"Demand outstripping supply has been putting upward pressure on property prices for a few years at this stage, but we are now also seeing the real impact of 'pandemic savings'.
"There is a strong cohort of mortgage applicant at the moment who have amassed funds that they would not have had the chance to save, but for the restrictions imposed on our day to day living over the last two years.
"Those who were able to avail of this opportunity to save are now in a stronger position and ultimately, have more money with which they can bid on the home they want.
"Our advice to people looking to buy a home is to start their preparation early.
"Also, if people are paying rent and wondering whether they should wait for prices to come down, we would point out that with rents suffering the same inflationary pressures as property prices, they might well be better off to buy now if they can – in many cases, their monthly mortgage repayments will probably be lower than what they are paying out now in rent."
Mr Grant advised that existing mortgage holders should be looking at the increase in the value of their homes as an opportunity to switch mortgage products or provider for a better rate.
"There are brokers throughout the country on-hand to help people do just that."
