House prices on the rise again as market defies forecasts

Property prices nationally rose 0.2 per cent in the 12 months to November as the market shrugged off the impact of coronavirus.

The latest Residential Property Price Index also pointed to a significant pick-up in transactions. There were 4,236 sales filed with Revenue in November, a 6.1 per cent increase on the same month in 2019.

At the outset of the pandemic and with unemployment spiralling, many had predicted 2020 would see a major fall in house prices.

However, the market has proved remarkably resilient and is now likely to end the year in positive territory.

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The latest figures show prices rose 0.2 per cent year on year in November compared with a decrease of 0.5 per cent in the previous month.

In Dublin, where supply pressures are most acute, prices fell 0.9 per cent, however.

The figures show households paid a median or middle-range price of €258,000 for a house over the 12-month period to the end of November. The Dublin region had the highest median price at €377,500.

Longford lows

Within Dublin, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown had the highest median price (€530,000), while south Dublin had the lowest (€350,000).

The highest median prices outside of Dublin were in Wicklow (€340,000) and Kildare (€319,000), while the lowest price was €108,000 in Longford.

Property prices nationally have increased 85.3 per cent from their post-crash trough in early 2013, while Dublin prices have risen 92.7 per cent from their February 2012 low.

"Covid-19 has negatively impacted the number of homes built in 2020, though the demand for homes, both new and second-hand, continues unabated," Trevor Grant, chairman of the Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors, said.

“This is reflected in the higher asking prices and in the way that sale prices throughout the country have held up during the pandemic,” he said.

“We can only hope that the lockdown on construction is relatively short-lived, and that developers can satisfy as much demand as possibly during the remainder of 2021.”