More people are buying homes in rural areas, driving “strong and robust” price growth in those regions, while prices in urban areas are in decline, according to a new report on housing.
Irish property tech firm Geowox has published its latest quarterly housing market report, which includes analysis of each single entry in the Irish property price register. The report focuses on actual sales rather than asking prices.
It suggests homebuyers are increasingly looking to more rural areas to buy, after sales in those places experienced an increase of 4.6 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.
The report also found rural homes experienced “strong and robust” price growth year on year in the third quarter, with an increase of 11.1 per cent. In contrast, urban prices declined by 0.7 per cent.
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However, even with prices in rural and urban areas on different trajectories, the cost of buying in urban areas is still significantly greater.
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The median price of a home in Dublin stood at €425,000, making it 55.1 per cent more expensive than other counties in the Republic, where the median price of a home was €274,000.
Roscommon saw the steepest increase in prices at 17.2 per cent. In comparison, Dublin showed a decrease in prices of 3 per cent.
The top three postcodes in the capital with the highest median price decline were Dublin 17 (-31.7 per cent), Dublin 3 (-23.3 per cent), and Dublin 2 (-19 per cent). The largest median price growth was found in Dublin 15 (2.9 per cent).
Sligo experienced a significant downturn with a decline of 14.5 per cent over the year, which made it the town with the most substantial decline.
In stark contrast, Longford and Carlow emerged as the towns with the “most remarkable price surge”, as they both rose 16 per cent during the same period.
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Nationally, sales prices were up 4.9 per cent against the same period of 2022. The median price for a property in Ireland was €320,000, which was up €15,000 in one year.
A total of 15,157 units were sold in the quarter, down 4.1 per cent versus the same period last year. More than 2,500 of these were new homes.
Both apartments and houses experienced price increases. The median price for an apartment stood at €270,000, while for a house it reached €330,000.
The price difference between an energy-efficient home (class A-B) and a non-efficient one (class C-G) was substantial, amounting to an increase of 29.1 per cent or €88,000.
Energy-efficient homes also demonstrated a higher price growth year on year, with a rise of 2.6 per cent.
The cost of a newly built home in the Republic was recorded at €410,000. The most expensive counties to purchase a house in the Republic were Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Galway.
The report also found that cheaper properties are becoming harder to come by, as the segment of properties priced below €150,000 experienced the most significant contraction at -15.3 per cent.
Geowox head of data Marco Giardina suggested rising interest rates and building prices are having “a clear impact” on the volume of both existing and new home sales. “It is interesting to note that rural home prices are on a strong upward trajectory, while urban prices are declining,” he added.
