House price growth accelerating

House price growth has accelerated in the second half of this year. Prices for first-time buyers are rising at a much faster rate than for others.

The Permanent TSB/ESRI house price index shows that house prices for first-time buyers rose by 10.8% in the first 10 months of this year, compared with an average of 6.8% for all houses. The figure for second-time buyers was 6.1%. The average price paid by a first-time buyer is now €245,341.