Irish property prices rose 5% last year, CSO figures show 

The most expensive Eircode in Cork was P17 Kinsale, with a median price of €435,358. And, while the median price of a home purchased on Cork’s Southside (T12) was €355,000, the median price on the Northside (T23) was almost a six-figure sum less at €259,500. File picture: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

Irish property prices rose by nearly 5% last year, with median price of a home sold in 2023 standing at €327,500.

The price of a home in Ireland is now far higher than the previous Celtic Tiger peak, up 7.7% from the peak of the property boom in April 2007, having eclipsed this high watermark in late 2022.

The Central Statistics Office’s Property Price Index for December 2023 shows the cost of new homes is still rising at a far higher rate than second-hand homes.

The national Residential Property Price Index increased by 4.4% in the 12 months to December 2023https://t.co/kcKEKg9i3d#CSOIreland #Ireland #Housing #HousingConstruction #HouseBuilding #NewDwellings #PropertyPrices #HousePrices #PlanningPermissions #IrishBusiness pic.twitter.com/iwwrpnjHI6

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) February 21, 2024

While new dwellings rose 9.2% in the last quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, second-hand homes rose just 1.6%.

The statistics also show property prices are increasing at a faster pace outside of Dublin.

CSO statistician Niall Corkery said: “Residential property prices rose by 4.4% in the 12 months to December 2023, up from 3.1% in the year to November 2023. In Dublin, residential property prices saw an increase of 2.7%, while property prices outside Dublin were 5.7% higher in December 2023 than a year earlier.

“The region outside of Dublin that saw the largest rise in house prices was the Midlands (Laois, Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath) at 7.8%, while at the other end of the scale, the West (Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon) saw a 3.3% rise.” 

Across 2023, just over one-third of the 50,234 homes bought in Ireland were purchased by first-time buyers. While over half (53.3%) were bought by existing homeowners, the remaining 12% were bought up by non-owner occupiers such as funds or other entities.

According to the statistics, the most expensive Eircode in the country to buy a home in was A94 Blackrock, with a median purchase price of €720,000.

The most expensive Eircode in Cork was P17 Kinsale, with a median price of €435,358. And, while the median price of a home purchased on Cork’s Southside (T12) was €355,000, the median price on the Northside (T23) was almost a six-figure sum less at €259,500.

The latest figures also show property price inflation is on the increase again, having dropped for much of 2023.

Brokers Ireland said despite easing fears around ECB interest rate hikes, Ireland still has a “dysfunctional” property market.

Its director of financial services Rachel McGovern said: “The key point is that we’re not building enough homes to support our growing population or to keep prices stabilised.

Without Government support schemes such as the Help-to-Buy and First Home scheme, along with intergenerational financial support, very few people, apart from those on very high salaries, could afford to buy a home. 

The Government has faced criticism for such schemes, with claims they are fuelling inflation, with the CSO figures again showing a large disparity between the rising cost of new homes versus existing homes.

Meanwhile, the Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors chair Trevor Grant said the scarcity of housing supply along with the high demand will continue to drive house prices up this year.

“The acceleration in the rate of regional house price growth is becoming more and more of an issue for first-time buyers because areas which previously were affordable for them are now less so,” he said.

“First-time buyers need to be ahead of the game if they want to get their foot onto the property ladder this year, which includes having the necessary deposit waiting in the wings and ensuring all of their ducks are in a row when it comes to a mortgage.”