Government urged to ramp up housing targets as price growth hits seven-year high
'The private market will not deliver affordable homes for the vast majority of people and it is time for the State to ramp up its direct delivery of new homes.' File picture: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire
The Government has been urged to ramp up its affordable housing targets as residential property prices hit a new seven-year high of 15.2%.
The latest statistics from the Central Statistics Office show prices in Dublin rose by 12.7% in the year to March and by 17.3% outside the capital.
Residential property prices grew by 15.2% in the year to Marchhttps://t.co/jfJpgR4Ybp #CSOIreland #Ireland #Housing #HousingConstruction #HouseBuilding #NewDwellings #PropertyPrices #HousePrices #PlanningPermissions #IrishBusiness #BusinessStatistics #BusinessNews pic.twitter.com/HIPDOSOPEI
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) May 16, 2022
Over the year, the median price for a which a price was bought was €285,000, ranging from €136,500 in Longford to €601,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
The figures have prompted Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin to urge the Government to prioritise the delivery of what he described as “genuinely” affordable homes to buy and to revise upwards its delivery targets.
“The private market will not deliver affordable homes for the vast majority of people and it is time for the State to ramp up its direct delivery of new homes," he said, adding that prices are now surging close to their Celtic Tiger peak.
Trevor Grant, chairperson of the Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors, said that while the growth in property prices remains strong, it expects that to slow as the year progresses.
"This is due to the anticipated increased supply coming on stream and mortgage exceptions becoming harder to obtain, which reduces borrowing power accordingly," he said.
"It’s hard to predict what impact the oncoming ECB rate increases will have on house prices here in Ireland in 2022 and into 2023 given the existing housing shortage and strong mortgage approval figures."
