House prices up 9.5% but surge is beginning to slow, says Daft.ie
The report says that prices in Cork were 9.4% higher than a year previously, rising to almost €331,000, while prices in Limerick City were up 11.1% to just under €250,500. File Picture
The average house price nationally is almost €312,000, 9.5% higher compared to the same period last year, but the surge in prices is beginning to slow.
Those are some of the findings from Daft.ie's latest housing sales report, which also showed the price hikes percentages were much higher in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Galway compared to Dublin.
There are some signs that both sides of the market may be turning, the report's author, Trinity College Dublin economist Ronan Lyons said.
"Ireland’s housing market has been characterised for a number of years by strong demand, boosted recently by unexpected savings, but supply has been steadily weakening," he said.
"On the supply side, the number of homes listed over the last 12 months has increased by 30% since early 2021, although it still remains 15% below the peak in 2019, while construction of new homes is set to reach a post-Celtic Tiger high this year.
"At the same time, sentiment among those active in the housing market has eased back, with expected inflation in housing prices over the next year below 1%, compared to over 5% three months ago," he said.
Expected inflation is one of the key drivers of immediate housing demand, so if prospective buyers feel they have more time to choose, they may take that opportunity, Mr Lyons added.
The report says that prices in Cork were 9.4% higher than a year previously, rising to almost €331,000, while prices in Limerick City were up 11.1% to just under €250,500.
The biggest increases in urban housing prices were in Galway (13%) and Waterford cities (13.5%) to around €352,600 and €226,600 respectively.
In Dublin, prices in the second quarter of 2022 were 6.6% higher than a year previously. The average price of a home in the capital is now €429,000, 95% above its lowest point, the report says.
"Supply in Dublin — and in the rest of Leinster — has started to increase again. There were almost 5% more homes for sale in Dublin on June 1 this year compared to last year and the equivalent figure for the rest of the province was 10.8% more homes. After over two years of rapidly falling supply, it seems that the market around the capital has turned a corner in terms of availability," Mr Lyons said.
"Looking at the flow of homes on to the market — rather than the stock available at any particular time — is a more direct window on to supply. In the 12 months to May 2022, just under 60,000 homes were advertised for sale nationwide.
"That is up from 52,700 a year previously and a low of less than 46,000 in the year to February 2021.
The number of homes available to buy on June 1 stood at just over 12,400, up from an all-time low of just 10,000 three months earlier, the report says.
There are now slightly more homes available to buy in Ireland than a year ago, the first time since mid-2019 that this has been the case, it adds.
