Dublin home price 30% above national average
Ronan Lyons, economist with Daft.ie, found that prices rose nationally by 3.7% during the first quarter of 2014, the largest quarterly rise since mid-2006.
He said the average asking price nationwide now stands at €177,000, compared to €171,000 a year ago and €380,000 at the peak.
When the percentage increase was broken down by region, it showed that the rise in Dublin was 5.7% — the largest since 2006 — compared to just 2.3% across the rest of the country. Mr Lyons did, however, point out the quarterly increase outside the capital was the first since mid-2007.
The annual rise in Dublin list prices was 15%. That compared to a fall of 3.3% in the rest of the country.
House prices did increase in a number of parts of the country outside Dublin. In Cork City, for example, the annual average rose by 1.6% to €170,335. In Cork county, however, it fell by 4.5% to €154,164.
“The end of price falls around the country is unsurprising when taken together with the figures on supply,” said Mr Lyons. “The total stock of properties sitting on the market fell from 54,000 in March 2012 to 43,000 in March 2013 and to 33,000 in March 2014.”
He said between 2008 and early 2012, the figure was persistently above 50,000.
“There are currently fewer than 2,300 properties listed in the capital, the lowest since June 2006,” Mr Lyons said. “Less than 800 Dublin houses are coming on the market each month on average or 10,000 homes over the course of a year. In a city of roughly half a million households, this translates to just 2% for sale — a healthy market would see at least three times this amount coming on to the market each year and perhaps as much as six times.”
A similar survey carried out by MyHome.ie put the average asking price in the capital at €244,000, 29% higher than the national average of €188,000.
The author of the report, Caroline Kelleher from DKM Economic Consultants, said: “The volatility in asking prices is a feature of the transition phase that is currently underway in the market, which is being influenced by fluctuations in stock levels and the changing expectations of sellers.
“Despite this volatility, the figures show the recovery in Dublin continues to gather momentum while it has yet to become firmly established elsewhere.”
She said a study showed the Dublin market bottomed out in Q4 2012, with the national market doing so in Q1 2013. “However, it’s clear the recovery in house prices will not necessarily happen in a straight line and at the same pace around the country,” said Ms Kelleher.
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