Property prices jump by almost 15% in 12 month period

Residential property prices grew by 14.8% in the 12 months up the January 2022, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office.

The rising cost of buying a home shows no sign of stopping with a further jump in the latest property price index.

Residential property prices grew by 14.8% in the 12 months up to January 2022, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The figure has almost doubled in the last seven years, with January 2016 showing a property price rise of just 7.7%.

Average property price rises outside of Dublin are higher than in the capital, reflecting that more people have moved away from urban areas during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Dublin, residential property prices saw an increase of 13.3% in the year to January, while property prices outside Dublin were 16% higher.

The region outside of Dublin that saw the largest rise in house prices was the Border at 24.7%, while at the other end of the scale, the Mid-West saw a 13.8% rise.

The highest house price growth in Dublin was in Dublin City at 15.1%, while South Dublin saw a rise of 12.3%.

The CSO stated that property prices nationally have increased by 115.6% from their trough in early 2013, while the national index is 3.3% lower than its highest level in 2007 - during the Celtic Tiger.

It is the 17th month that the annual rate of house price inflation has been stronger than the previous month.

Viacheslav Voronovich, a statistician with the CSO, added that the median price of a home in the last 12 months was €280,000.

The lowest median price paid for a dwelling was €130,000 in Longford, while the highest was €595,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, he said.

Austin Hughes, from KBC, said that the market is being "dominated by buoyant home-buyer demand".

However, he added that "increased global uncertainty and the likelihood of rising ECB interest rates later this year, as well as the expectation of improved new housing supply, may introduce some increased caution into the market".

"For these reasons, we may be close to peak pressures at the moment but we may not be at peak prices."

Mr Hughes also said that the rising house prices in rural areas may be about to slow down.

"It remains the case that Irish property price inflation is strongest in those areas where properties are cheaper reflecting the influence of affordability constraints and increased working from home.

"However, with the ‘Return To Office’ regaining momentum as health-related restrictions fade, the relatively rapid pace of growth in property prices in more rural areas may ease back as 2022 progresses."