Residential property prices have hit a seven-year high with new figures from the Central Statistics Office showing that prices grew by 15.2 per cent in March this year when compared to 2021.
According to the CSO, prices in Dublin jumped by 12.7 per cent, while prices outside Dublin grew by 17.3 per cent.
The median price of a home purchased in the 12 months to March 2022 was €285,000.
The lowest median price for a house was €136,500 in Longford, while the highest median price was €601,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
In Dublin, house prices increased by 12.6 per cent and apartment prices by 12.9 per cent.
The area with the highest house price growth in Dublin was in Dublin City at 13.8 per cent, while South Dublin saw a rise of 11.3 per cent.
Outside the capital, house prices were up by 17.3 per cent and apartment prices rose by 17.6 per cent.
The Border region had the largest increase in house prices outside Dublin at 25.1 per cent.
Residential property prices grew by 15.2% in the year to Marchhttps://t.co/jfJpgR4Ybp #CSOIreland #Ireland #Housing #HousingConstruction #HouseBuilding #NewDwellings #PropertyPrices #HousePrices #PlanningPermissions #IrishBusiness #BusinessStatistics #BusinessNews pic.twitter.com/HIPDOSOPEI
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) May 16, 2022
In March, there were just 3,918 dwelling purchases filed with Revenue Commissioners, a decrease of 0.8 per cent on figures last year.
Existing homes accounted for 3,288 (83.9 per cent) of the dwelling purchases filed with the Revenue Commissioners.
Meanwhile, 630 new homes were purchased in March, accounting for 16.1 per cent of all residential properties sold.
Trevor Grant, chairperson of the Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors, said growth in property prices is expected to slow as the year progresses.
“This is due to the anticipated increased supply coming on stream and mortgage exceptions becoming harder to obtain, which reduces borrowing power accordingly,” Mr Grant said.
The increase in prices comes as the European Central Bank (ECB) is set to raise the mortgage interest rate by at least 0.25 per cent by the end of this year.
“It’s hard to predict what impact the oncoming ECB rate increases will have on house prices here in Ireland in 2022 and into 2023 given the existing housing shortage and strong mortgage approval figures.”