Irish property prices increased by 2.4 per cent in the 12 months to May, but there was a small contraction in the market inside the capital.
The national Residential Property Price Index from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows prices in Dublin decreased by 0.2 per cent, while prices outside Dublin went up by 4.5 per cent.
The data also shows there was a steep increase in the number of homes bought as the figure filed with Revenue rose to 4,435, up by 18.9 per cent compared to the 3,730 purchases in May 2022. That increase also represents a 36 per cent jump compared with the 3,262 purchases in April. The total value of transactions filed in May was €1.6 billion.
Existing dwellings accounted for 81.5 per cent of purchases, which was an increase of 17.5 per cent compared with May 2022. The balance were new dwellings, which represented an increase of 25.6 per cent.
Revenue data shows that there were 1,567 first-time buyer purchases in May, which was an increase of 29.2 per cent on the 1,213 recorded in May 2022. These purchases were made up of 483 new dwellings and 1,084 existing dwellings.
Households paid a median price of €315,000 for a dwelling on the residential property market in the 12 months to May.
The Dublin region had the highest median price (€435,000), while, within the capital, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown had the highest price (€630,000), while Fingal and South Dublin had the lowest (€410,000).
The highest median prices outside of Dublin were in Wicklow (€425,000) and Kildare (€380,000), while the lowest price was €160,000 in Longford.
The national index has now reached the value of 165.6, which is 1.3 per cent above its highest level at the peak of the property boom in April 2007.
Dublin residential property prices are 9.6 per cent lower than their February 2007 peak, while residential property prices in the rest of Ireland are 2.2 per cent higher than their May 2007 peak.
Property prices nationally have increased by 125.8 per cent from their trough in early 2013. Dublin prices have risen by 123.8 per cent from their February 2012 low, whilst prices elsewhere are 135.2 per cent higher than at the trough, which was in May 2013.
The Eircode area with the highest median price for household dwelling purchases in the month was Blackrock in Dublin (€741,503).
The five most expensive Eircode areas by median price were in Dublin. The second most expensive Eircode area was Dublin 6, where the median price was €700,000. The third most expensive area was Dublin 4, which had a median price of €695,000.
The Eircode area with the least expensive median price within the capital was Dublin 10, where the median price was €273,000.
Outside of Dublin the most expensive Eircode area over the last 12 months was Greystones, with a median price of €530,000. The second most expensive Eircode area was Bray, which came in at €465,500. The third most expensive was Celbridge at €440,081.
The least expensive Eircode area over the last 12 months was Ballyhaunis with a median price of €127,500.
