House price inflation has accelerated in the second half of the year with the first time buyers experiencing the highest increases, according to the latest permanent TSB house price index.
The overall value of house prices nationally rose by 6.8 per cent in the first ten months of the year while prices for first time buyers grew by 10.8 per cent.
House prices have risen by 4.2 per cent in the past four months compared to first half growth of 2.6 per cent, indicating an acceleration in prices ahead of a widely expected interest rate hike by the ECB.
Commenting on the results, Niall O'Grady, head of marketing, at permanent tsb said: "Last year prices grew stronger in the first half than the second half of the year. This year the reverse is happening.
"And while we still expect a relatively moderate level of price growth overall for the year, it's more difficult to forecast how 2006 will develop on the basis of these figures."
He added "What we can say with some certainty however is that there's certainly plenty of life left in the Irish housing market yet."
The average price paid for a house by a first time buyer is now €245,341. The average price paid for a house nationally in October of this year was €271,385, up over €17,000 on that recorded in December 2004.
Dublin house prices grew by 7.8 per cent in the first ten months of 2005, while the equivalent growth rate outside Dublin was 6.6 per cent.
The average price paid for a house in Dublin and outside Dublin in October 2005 was €361,042 and €234,478 respectively.