Double-digit Irish house price increases unlikely

House prices grew by almost 5% nationally in the first quarter of the year, but a return to spiralling double-digit hikes appears remote thanks to the introduction of new Central Bank mortgage lending restrictions.

The price rise seen across the country consigned a late-2014 slump to the history books as an aberration, with the market now said to be functioning better as a result of the new lending caps.

With the new mortgage rules, aggregate house prices can in the future only grow as fast as incomes rise, making double-digit inflation in the housing market, particularly in Dublin, “incredibly unlikely”.