New data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that residential property prices increased by 7.5% in the year leading up to March, a slight drop from the 8% growth noted in the previous month, reports RTE.
According to the CSO, the median price for a home purchased in the 12 months up to March stood at €362,500.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown had the highest median price at €665,000, while Leitrim recorded the lowest at €180,000.
The latest statistics reveal that property prices in Dublin climbed by 6% over the year to March, whereas properties outside the capital experienced an 8.7% increase compared to the same time the previous year, reports RTE.
Over the 12-month period ending in March, Dublin house prices rose by 5.9%, while prices for apartments went up by 6.2%.
The CSO pointed out that among the Dublin areas, Fingal recorded the highest house price rise at 7.8%, while South Dublin experienced the lowest growth at 4.7%.
Outside Dublin, house prices increased by 9.1%, with apartment prices seeing a 4.3% rise, reports RTE.
The Border region—covering Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo—saw the most significant growth in house prices at 12.8%. In contrast, the Mid-East area—which includes Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow—had the lowest growth at 6.7%.
Over the same 12-month period, A94 (Blackrock, Dublin) was the most expensive Eircode area, with a median home price of €750,000. Meanwhile, F45 (Castlerea, Roscommon) was the least expensive, with a median price of €150,000, reports RTE.
The CSO also reported that 3,617 residential property purchases at market prices were registered with Revenue in March—marking a 9.1% rise compared to the 3,314 transactions recorded in the same month last year.
The overall value of property deals filed during March came to €1.5 billion. Of that, €1.2 billion came from 2,866 purchases of existing homes, while €360.6 million came from 751 purchases of new homes, the CSO said.
The national property index is now 17.3% above the highest point it reached during the property boom in April 2007, according to today’s figures, reports RTE.
Property prices in Dublin are currently 4% higher than their previous peak in February 2007, while in the Rest of Ireland, prices are 19.1% above the high recorded in May 2007.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald urged the Government to stop “screwing up” on the housing issue, reports RTE.
Ms McDonald told the Dáil that rents are increasing faster than at any point in the last two decades, with average annual rents now reaching a staggering €24,000.
She took aim at Housing Minister James Browne and questioned Taoiseach Micheál Martin on whether plans were underway to dismantle rent pressure zones. She warned that doing so would result in even higher “rip-off rents” for tenants, reports RTE.
Mr Martin acknowledged that rents are excessively high and attributed the problem to a lack of supply.
He argued that the Opposition lacks constructive housing policies, stating that Sinn Féin had election manifesto proposals that would “screw” first-time home buyers.
All available data, he added, indicates that current rental policies are discouraging investment in the market, and that a stable investment environment needs to be established, reports RTE.
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