The return of Celtic Tiger house prices: How worried should we be?

With property prices climbing by more than 14 per cent over the last 12 months, the dream of owning a house for many would-be first-time buyers seems further out of reach than ever.

For the hundreds of thousands of people who bought homes during the Celtic Tiger and for the millions who suffered the consequences of the economic crash in 2008, price increases of this magnitude have inevitably sparked fears that another boom-and-bust cycle is under way.

As buyers have scrambled to purchase the limited number of new and second-hand homes on the market, the scarcity of supply and the sky-rocketing prices have further fuelled the rental crisis, meaning there are few people who have not been touched by the multi-layered housing crisis.

And it is all coming on the back of general inflation which is making even the most basic of life’s essentials unaffordable for many people.

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A number of factors – including the ongoing shortfall in supply, increased savings and remote working – have triggered an acceleration in house prices since the start of the pandemic.

In Dublin the average price of a home last year was €506,667 compared with a national sales figure of €326,457.

The Government says it is moving to address supply issues as a matter of urgency, the Opposition says not enough is being done and what little is being done is too slow.

In The News talks to The Irish Times economics correspondent Eoin Burke Kennedy about what is driving property price inflation, while mortgage broker and financial analyst Karl Deeter paints a picture of what might happen next.

In The News is presented by reporters Conor Pope and Sorcha Pollak

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