Almost 15 new property millionaires were created every week in Ireland last year as the average value of a house surged almost €100,000 in five years, a new report shows.
The second Daft.ie housing wealth report shows the average residential property was worth almost €250,000 in the first quarter of 2018.
It is up from a low of €165,000 in early 2013, with the total value of Ireland’s residential dwellings increasing by just over 7% year-on-year to an estimated €420bn.
That figure is twice the combined market capitalisation of the 50 or so firms listed on the Irish stock exchange and €120bn more than Irish GDP last year.
Meanwhile, the newly published Knight Frank Global House Price Index shows Irish property prices are now rising at the fourth fastest rate in the world.
With growth of some 12.7& in the year to March 2018, Ireland is behind only Hong Kong (+14.9%); Malta (+13.6%) and Iceland (13.2%).
Lack of housing supply is a critical feature of the Irish market, leading to continued price growth.
A reception room in the lavishly decorated Luggala mansion.
The Daft.ie report estimates there are now almost 4,600 property millionaires in Ireland, up 762 on last year.
But the report, which compares property wealth from the first half of this year with the figures from Daft.ie’s first such report in 2013, also highlights the concentration of housing wealth in Dublin, and shows:
- Urban Dublin now accounts for some 40% of Ireland’s total housing wealth despite representing less than 1% of the country’s landmass;
- 25 of the top 30 most expensive markets are in the capital;
- the country’s top 10 most expensive streets are in the capital, with Eglinton St in Donnybrook ranked the most expensive, followed by Torquay Rd in Foxrock and Wellington Rd, Ballsbridge;
- Dalkey, Blackrock, Rathgar, and Foxrock have the highest number of property millionaires;
- Sandycove has been dubbed ‘millionaires row’, with the price of a terraced home starting at €1.1m, a bungalow and semi-detached from €1.3m, and detached homes from €1.5m.
- The report shows that the other four major cities bring the urban share of Ireland’s housing wealth to roughly half.
“This is not unusual or unhealthy. In fact, the high standard of living enjoyed in developed countries is dependent on the clustering and specialisation made possible by cities,” said report author Ronan Lyons.
But he said the report has highlighted significant changes in areas where housing wealth is concentrated. “What some may have thought of as the less glamorous parts of the greater Dublin area have seen the biggest jump up the rankings.”
The mansion at Luggala sits on an estate of 5,000 acres.
As prices were bottoming out in 2013, Dublin 10 (Ballyfermot) was ranked 51st by average price. Now, it is ranked 34th, a rise of 17 places.
Elsewhere in the capital, Dublin 1 in the north inner city has risen 10 places to 21st and Dublin 8, including Inchicore, Kilmainham, and South Circular Rd, is up six places to 18th.
The other two markets with the biggest rise in the rankings are Westmeath, up eight places to 37th, and Louth, up seven places to 33rd.
While Limerick city is largely unchanged, down one place to 39th, two of the surrounding areas, Limerick county and Tipperary, have fallen 10 places, to 42nd and 44th respectively.
Luggala boasts a unique collection of Irish furniture and paintings
In Munster, the most expensive market is in Cork city, with average prices around €261,000, followed by Cork county, Waterford, Kerry, and Limerick city, with Kinsale, Bandon, Crosshaven, Durrus/Mizen, and Clonakilty ranked the most expensive towns in the province.
The most expensive property listing so far this year is the famed Guinness estate in Luggala, Co Wicklow, a historic seven-bedroom, four- bathroom Gothic revival mansion, on a 5,000-acre estate. Lavishly decorated with a unique collection of Irish furniture, artefacts, and paintings, it’s yours for a cool €28m.
The property has a private lake and a boathouse.
Most expensive addresses
- Eglinton Rd, Donnybrook
- Torquay Rd, Foxrock
- Wellington Rd, Ballsbridge
- Edward Square, Ballsbridge
- Shrewsbury Rd, Ballsbridge
- Park Avenue, Sandymount
- Harbour Rd, Dalkey
- Highfield Rd, Rathgar
- Fitzwilliam Square
- Castleknock Rd, Castleknock
additional reporting by Digital Desk
