Irish house-price inflation surged to over 8 per cent in May as the market shrugged off the impact of higher borrowing costs.
The latest residential property price index, compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), indicated prices rose at an average rate of 8.2 per cent in the 12 months to May, up from a rate of 7.9 per cent the previous month.
In Dublin, residential values rose at an even higher annual rate of 8.6 per cent in May, while prices outside Dublin were 7.6 per cent higher compared with a year earlier.
May was the ninth consecutive month to see an increase in headline inflation in the State’s property market, a worrying trend for prospective buyers. With supply pressures remaining and interest rates expected to start coming down, demand appears to be driving prices forward again.
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The CSO’s national index of property values for May was 179.4, which is 9.7 per cent above its highest level at the peak of the property boom in April 2007. Dublin prices were still 1.7 per cent lower than their 2007 peak.
The latest data indicate there were 3,997 dwelling purchases by households at market prices filed with Revenue in May. This represented a near 12 per cent increase compared with the 3,572 purchases in April. The total value of transactions filed in May was €1.5 billion.
The CSO said households paid a median price of €335,000 for a home in the 12 months to May.
The Dublin region had the highest median price (€450,000) in the year to May. The highest median prices outside of Dublin were in Wicklow (€445,000) and Kildare (€395,989), while the lowest median price was €169,500 in Longford.
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