House prices continued to soar ahead in the second half of the year, according to the latest statistics from the Department of the Environment.
Second hand house prices in the Dublin area rose 13.3 per cent between March and June and by 11 per cent nationally. New house prices rose 10.6 per cent in the Dublin area and 4.7 per cent nationally.
The increases mean the average price of a new house was £95,885 at the end of June, rising to £124,306 in Dublin, while the average price of a second hand home was £101,985, rising to £134,037 in Dublin.
And over 12 months second hand houses in Dublin were worth 36.9 per cent more, while new houses witnessed a 31.7 per cent increase. Nationally second hand houses rose by 31.9 per cent and by 22.3 per cent for new houses. House completions were up 7 per cent on last year, with 10,359 homes built between March and June.
Mr Robert Molloy, the minister for housing and urban renewal, welcomed the increase in house completions. But he said it would have been unrealistic to expect the effects of the Government's attempt to slow the acceleration in house prices to be reflected at this stage.
According to the Department the cost of housing is now far outstripping both average earnings and house building costs, as well as inflation.
Banks also continue to dominate the mortgage market, taking 64.4 per cent of the market, compared with 35.5 per cent for building societies and only 0.1 per cent for local authorities.
At the same time fixed rates are still proving to be the most popular option with the majority of home buyers. Over 62 per cent opted for a fixed rate, while less than 38 per cent opted for a variable rate.
