House prices in Waterford City are almost 14% higher than a year ago, according to the latest Daft.ie House Price report published today.
The average price for a house in Waterford City is now almost €227,000, up 13.5%.
Prices in Waterford county rose by 11.8%, with the average house costing just under €298,000.
Nationally, house prices increased by 3.8%.
The average house price in Waterford is still below the national average of almost €312,000.
There were 108 newly-built home transactions in the county; that's up 24% and bucks the national trend, as the nationwide average fell by 12%.
According to the report, the rural-urban gap in housing inflation continues to narrow, although rural areas are still seeing the largest increases.
The number of homes available to buy on June 1st stood at just over 12,400, up from an all-time low of just 10,000 three months earlier.
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.
As in 2019, improved availability is being driven by Dublin (where stock for sale is up 4.5% year-on-year) and the rest of Leinster (where it is up 10.8%).
Commenting on the report, its author Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin, said: “Ireland’s housing market has been characterized for a number of years by strong demand, boosted recently by unexpected savings, but supply that has been steadily weakening.
"There are some signs that both sides of the market may be turning.
"On the supply side, the number of homes listed over the last twelve 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. “On the demand side, the rise in interest rates, prompted by inflation, will feed through to housing demand in due course.
"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.
"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.”
