House prices are going up

HOUSE prices nationally rose by an average of 8.5% during 2015, according to the latest House Price Report released today by Ireland’s largest property website, Daft.ie.

This national average hides a significant difference between Dublin, where prices rose by just 2.7%, and the rest of the country, where the average increase was 13.1%. The national average asking price in the final quarter of 2015 was €204,000, compared to €188,000 a year ago and €164,000 at its lowest point in early 2013.

In Mayo, prices between October and December 2015 were 6% higher than a year previously, compared to a rise of 3% observed a year ago. The average house price in the county is now €122,000, 10% above its lowest point.

The different trends in Dublin and elsewhere mark a turnaround from 2014, when prices rose by 21% in the capital and by 9% elsewhere. This slowdown in Dublin inflation occurred at a time when inflation in Ireland’s other cities accelerated. Prices rose by an average of 20.7% in Cork in 2015, compared to 14.7% in 2014, and by 19.7% in Galway, compared to 16.3% in 2014.

In Waterford city, inflation has increased significantly to 18.6% from 4.1% a year ago, while the most dramatic change occurred in Limerick city. A year ago, prices in Limerick city were still falling (by 1.3% year-on-year), but in the last 12 months they have risen by 22.3%.

Elsewhere in the country, inflation has accelerated from 8.8% in 2014 to 12.1% in 2015.

Meanwhile, the total stock of properties for sale is now at its lowest point in nearly nine years, with just over 25,000 properties for sale nationwide. A year ago there were nearly 30,000 properties on the market and the bulk of the reduction comes from outside the five main cities.