Residential property price growth picked up on a yearly basis for the second month in a row in October, Central Statistics Office figures showed today.
Prices for residential property increased by 2.3% in October compared with a near three-year low of 1.1% two months earlier. Prices had risen by 1.4% in September.
Property price growth had cooled from a recent peak of 15.1% in February 2022 but rising interest rates have had a limited impact here as relatively weak supply has for almost a decade failed to catch up with rising demand.
Today’s CSO figures also show that prices expanded at their fastest monthly pace in 14 months, climbing 1.1% from September, with monthly price growth equally fast in Dublin and throughout the rest of the country.
The CSO said that Dublin residential property prices saw a decrease of 0.6%, while property prices outside of Dublin were 4.5% higher in October of this year than the same time last year.
The CSO said that house prices in Dublin fell by 0.7% while apartment prices were down by 0.4%.
It noted that the highest house price growth in Dublin was in Fingal at 0.8% while Dún-Laoghaire Rathdown saw a decline of 1.5%.
Outside Dublin, house prices were up by 4.5% and apartment prices rose by 5%.
The region outside of Dublin that saw the largest rise in house prices was the Mid-West (Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary) at 6.2%.
At the other end of the scale, the West (Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon) and Mid-East (Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow) saw a 3.5% rise.
A total of 4,604 home purchases by households were filed with Revenue in October, an increase of 7.2% compared with the 4,296 purchases filed the same month last year.
The total value of transactions filed in October was €1.8 billion.
The CSO said that existing homes accounted for 82.9% of the purchases filed in October, an increase of 9% on last year.
The balance of 17.1% were new homes, a decrease of 1% on October 2022.
Meanwhile, Revenue data shows 1,561 first-time buyer purchases were made in October, up 2.8% on the 1,518 recorded in October. These purchases were made up of 439 new homes and 1,122 existing homes.
Today’s CSO figures show that the median price of a home bought in the 12 months to October was €323,000.
The lowest median price for a house was €160,000 in Longford, while the highest median price was €630,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
The CSO said that property prices nationally have now increased by 134.3% from their trough in early 2013.
Dublin residential property prices have risen by 132% from their February 2012 low, while residential property prices in the Rest of Ireland are 144.3% higher than their low point in May 2013.
Joey Sheahan, Head of Credit at online brokers MyMortgages.ie, said today’s CSO figures are very much in keeping with what has been seen during 2023 and what we are expecting to see more of in 2024 – a stabilisation of property prices and a growth in popularity and demand outside of Dublin.
Mr Sheahan said we are unlikely to see any drastic increases in house prices in the short term at least, while it is also not expected that the ECB will make any more announcements to increase rates.
“Though we are reaching a plateau, the growth we have experienced over the last number of years in residential property is of significant importance to many mortgage holders out there,” he said.
“Higher value means lower loan-to-value ratios on mortgages, which in turn means that these homeowners, who reach a certain threshold, should be able to secure better value rates from their lender,” he said.
“This is something that every mortgage holder should look at as we move into the new year,” he added.
IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers said prices have picked up again as already reported by auctioneers.
“Our agents have seen a pick up since September which tallies with today’s CSO Index,” said Pat Davitt, IPAV’s Chief Executive.
“Overly aggressive interest rates rises are having an effect but with a high proportion of non-mortgaged buyers, which could be up to 40%, we’re not seeing a major impact on prices.
“However higher interest rates and lack of availability of suitable properties are impacting socially in that home ownership has become a pipe dream for many,” he added.
Article Source – House price growth picks up to 2.3% in October – CSO – RTE