By Cillian Sherlock, PA
Housing prices rose by an average of 3.1 per cent nationally in the third quarter of 2024, according to new figures.
The soaring prices come as a leading expert warns that the number of homes needed per year is close to twice what was built last year.
The House Price Report from property website Daft.ie shows that the typical listed price nationwide in Q3 was €344,848, 6.2 per cent higher than in the same period in 2023 and 37 per cent higher than at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The percentage gains were greatest in Dublin, where prices rose by 4.1 per cent between June and September.
This is the largest three-month increase in the capital since early 2017 and means that prices there are on average more than 6 per cent higher than year ago.
Annual inflation in Dublin is higher than the average of the other four cities for the first time since 2020.
In Cork, Galway and Waterford cities, prices in the third quarter were roughly 4 per cent higher than a year ago.
Inflation in Limerick city remains higher, however, at 9.7 per cent, while the average increase outside the cities in the year to Q3 was 6.3 per cent.
The number of second-hand homes available to buy nationwide on September 1st stood at less than 11,900, down 12 per cent year-on-year, the 15th month of contracting supply.
The fall in availability largely reflects a dip in the number of second-hand homes coming on to the market over the last year, with just over 51,000 homes coming on to the market in the the 12 months to September, compared to almost 57,000 a year ago.
Average prices were up 3.8 per cent in Cork City to €354,307; 4.1 per cent in Galway to €388,604; 3.4 per cent in Waterford to €249,792; and 6.3 per cent in the rest of the country to €294,541.
The report’s author, Trinity College Dublin economist Ronan Lyons said: “The government can take some credit for overseeing a doubling of the professional construction sector in the last few years.
“But the true number of homes needed each year, if the housing deficit is to be addressed as well as new needs, is close to twice what was built last year.
“Ensuring housing supply is responsive to underlying requirements will very likely be the dominant issue for the next government as it has been for this one.”
