Dream of owning home now nightmare

NO doubt, house hunters will be disappointed by the findings of a survey showing that the average house price for a first-time buyer now tops €200,000.

On a slightly more hopeful note, however, the latest house price index suggests the rate of price growth appears to be moderating, especially in Dublin.

But that prediction will bring cold comfort to most home buyers as the price of houses nationally increased by 12.2% in the 11 months to November. By last month, the average price paid for a house nationally was €231,109 more than three times the price of €75,169 registered when the index first began in March 1996.