House prices soar another 10% in past 12 months to peak 15% above Celtic Tiger boom values
Double Homes Now File Homes Figures In At Of Almost Keegan, Is 6 4% Hand Collins That That Versus 11% Of Inflation Colin Dublin The Picture: Second New Cso Cost Show
House prices have risen almost 10% in the last year, as rampant inflation in the housing market looks set to continue into 2025.
The Central Statistics Office’s latest Property Price Index shows that Dublin home price inflation rose 10.4% in the last year at a faster pace than elsewhere in the country where prices rose 9.2%.
The new statistics came on the first day of the new Dáil sitting in Leinster House after a general election that had housing was a key issue, and also comes a week after the ESRI warned that house prices in Ireland may be overvalued as high as 10%.
The median price of a home purchased in the 12 months to October 2024 was €350,000.
The most expensive Eircode to buy a property in the country is the D06 area which includes parts of Rathmines and Rathgar where homes have been selling for a median of €725,000.
House prices in Ireland are now 15% above their peak during the Celtic Tiger boom, and 156% higher than when they hit their lowest in early 2013.
Trevor Grant, chair of Irish Mortgage Advisors, said that while the pace of inflation has slightly eased, it has remained high.
“The challenge to house hunters of runaway house prices should not be underestimated,” he said. “And the picture for 2025 remains unclear.”
In Cork City, homes were selling for a median level of €310,000 in the last year while they’ve been selling for €345,000 across Cork county. The most expensive Eircode in Cork to buy in is P17 Kinsale, at a median price of €465,000.
CSO figures show that inflation in the cost of second-hand homes is now almost double that of new homes at 11% versus 6.4%.
Furthermore, the data shows that in October 2024 first-time buyers buying a new-build home in Ireland paid €425,000 on average. This is an increase of €50,000 on the average price first-time buyers were paying for a newly built home just two years ago.
Mr Grant said that falling interest rates could fuel house price growth, while the continued lack of supply to meet the demand is also playing a role in driving prices upwards.
“The shortage of new homes available to private buyers means many first-time buyers are bidding against trader-uppers/movers, which in turn is driving up second-hand prices,” he said.
“The lack of labour to build houses is also an issue — skill shortages and access to labour are critical challenges for the building industry which unfortunately also drive up house building costs, and in turn house prices.”
Social Democrats housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan said a lack of supply and affordability is at the heart of this crisis, and the next Government must ensure a “radical reset of housing policy”.
“When the outgoing government took office in June 2020, the median price for a home in Ireland was €260,000,” he said. “Since then, the price of a home has increased by a staggering €90,000.”