Ireland Property Market Sees Continued Growth with Rising Prices

The Ireland property market continues to grow with rising prices. July data shows a 1.5% increase compared to last year, driven by high demand and limited supply. Dublin experiences a decline while areas outside of Dublin see a notable 3.8% increase.

Property prices in Ireland continued to rise in July, according to the latest data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The figures reveal a 1.5% increase in prices compared to the previous year, driven by a strong demand from first-time buyers, combined with a shortage of available houses. Additionally, prices in July rose by 0.3% compared to the previous month. However, despite the overall growth, Dublin experienced a decline, with prices falling by 1.4%, while prices in areas outside of Dublin saw a notable increase of 3.8%.

Although property prices are still on the rise, the rate of increase has slowed down compared to previous months. In fact, the annual growth rate of 1.5% marks the slowest expansion rate observed in nearly three years, down from a staggering 13.1% growth rate during the same period last year. When examining the past 12 months leading up to July 2023, house prices in Dublin recorded a decrease of 1.8%, while apartment prices managed to increase slightly by 0.1%.

Breaking it down further, the area in Dublin that experienced the highest house price growth was Fingal, with a remarkable 1.4% increase. Conversely, Dublin City witnessed a decline of 4.5% in house prices. Outside of Dublin, house prices rose by 3.9%, and apartment prices exhibited a growth of 2%. Among the regions outside of Dublin, the South-East (comprised of Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford) recorded the most significant rise in house prices, at 4.8%. On the other end of the spectrum, the Border region (including Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo) experienced a more modest increase of 2.2%.

In terms of the number of dwelling purchases in July, 4,174 households bought properties at market prices, which is a decrease of 6.1% compared to the same period last year when 4,443 purchases took place. The median price of a home purchased in the 12 months leading up to July stood at €320,000. Looking at the extremes, the lowest median price for a house during this period was €160,000 in Longford, while the highest median price soared to €630,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Furthermore, the most expensive Eircode area during this timeframe was A94 'Blackrock', with a median price of €735,000, while F35 'Ballyhaunis' boasted the least expensive price, at €127,500.

The CSO's national property price index currently stands at 167.4, which is 2.3% higher than its previous peak in April 2007, during the property boom. However, Dublin residential property prices are still 8.9% lower than their peak in February 2007, whereas residential property prices in the rest of Ireland have exceeded their peak in May 2007 by 3.6%. Looking back even further, property prices across the country have increased significantly since reaching their lowest point in early 2013, with a surge of 128.2%. Specifically in Dublin, residential property prices have risen by 125.5% since their February 2012 low, while residential property prices in the rest of Ireland have skyrocketed by 138.3% since their lowest point in May 2013.