Average house price rise €30,000

THE average price of a house is now almost €30,000 more than last year and the rise in the cost of new houses is outstripping that of second-hand homes even though supply has finally caught up with demand.

The rate of house price growth outside Dublin is also double that of the capital, the latest edition of the Permanent TSB House Price Index shows.

The index, compiled in association with the ESRI, shows house prices nationally rose by 0.9% in February, up from 0.5% in January but were lower than that in each of the last three months of 2003.