The cost of rebuilding a home has risen slightly over the last 12 months but it remains more than 20 per cent lower than at the height of the boom, according to figures published this morning.
The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland’s annual house rebuilding cost guide pinpoints the costs associated with reinstating a property in the event of a catastrophe such as a fire and shows that national average house rebuilding costs increased this year following a stabilisation last year and several years of decline.
The survey found the largest increases in reinstatement costs on an average three-bedroom semi-detached home were in Cork where there was a 3 per cent increase on 2013. Reinstatement costs were also up 3 per cent in Limerick and 2 per cent in Galway. Dublin and the northwest recorded increases of just 1 per cent.
Average costs
The average minimum rebuilding costs for a standard three-bedroom semi-detached house in Dublin now stands at €169,575 while the figure for Cork is €133,570. Rebuilding costs for Galway were put at €129,580 slightly lower than Limerick where costs were estimated to be €131,385.
“The marginal increase in house rebuilding costs reflects slightly higher input prices for construction materials and labour costs,” said president of the SCSI Micheál O’Connor.
“However, it should be noted that the costs are still approximately 21 per cent lower for an average three-bedroom house than they were in 2008.
He said all homeowners need to check their house rebuilding costs are adequate and fully in line with current figures. “By doing so, they could potentially avoid either overpaying or underpaying on their home insurance premiums.”
