Property prices up by 3% across State and by 1.2% in Dublin

Residential property prices rose 3 per cent in the Republic in the year to February, with homes outside of Dublin rising at a higher rate.

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show prices in the capital increased 1.2 per cent to the end of February, while prices outside Dublin were 4.7 per cent higher.

In Dublin house prices jumped 1.2 per cent, while the cost of apartments rose by 0.9 per cent. The highest house-price growth in the capital was in south Dublin, where costs increased 2.8 per cent. Fingal recorded a 1.2 per cent decline in property prices for the same period.

Outside the capital house prices increased 4.3 per cent, while apartment prices were up 9.6 per cent. The largest rise in house prices was in the southeast, at 6.6 per cent. At the other end of the scale prices declined 0.8 per cent in the Border region.

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Prices across the Republic have increased by 88.5 per cent from their low point in early 2013. Property prices are up 95.3 per cent from their February 2012 low in Dublin and are 89.8 per cent higher than at the trough in May 2013 for houses outside Dublin.

Dermot O’Leary, chief economist at Goodbody, said solid demand and record low supply were continuing to contribute to upward pressure on house prices.

“February was a relatively strong month for transactions, with filings up by 12 per cent year-on-year. This leaves total transactions in the three months to February down by just 2 per cent year-on-year, which, in the context of a hard lockdown for most of that period, is a positive result.

“Moreover, household transactions grew by 6 per cent year-on-year in the latest three-month period.”

Mr O’Leary also suggested the rise in people working from home due to the Covid crisis could be a factor in the increase in prices outside Dublin.

“The pandemic has clearly brought about a dramatic shift in the way we live and work, with Ireland seeing the largest increase in people at home and largest decrease in people in workplaces in Europe according to the latest Google data. This shift will continue to have profound implications beyond the pandemic for housing, transport and the labour market.”

Residential property prices are still 15.5 per cent lower than at their highest level in 2007.

Sherry FitzGerald review

Meanwhile, the number of second-hand or existing homes for sale in the Republic has fallen by 70 per cent over the past decade, according to estate agent Sherry FitzGerald’s latest review.

There were just 15,500 second-hand properties listed for sale nationwide in January, representing a year-on-year fall of 24 per cent. This was also 70 per cent down on the corresponding figure in January 2011, which was 53,000.

Supply levels had been declining by an average of 10 per cent per annum over much of the past decade. “However, with the onset of Covid-19, recent falls in supply have been much steeper,” it said.

Vendors are reluctant to bring properties to the market amid Covid-related concerns but also because of restrictions on viewings.