Residential property prices grew by 8.7% in the year to December, marking a slowdown from a revised 9.6% growth seen in the previous month, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today.
But today’s CSO figures show that average home prices are about €200,000 more expensive than they were just over a decade ago.
The median price of a home bought in the 12 months to December was €355,000, up from €327,500 in 2023 and €155,000 in 2013.
The CSO said that national prices are now also 16.8% above the highest level at the peak of the Celtic Tiger property boom in 2007.
Today’s figures show that home prices in Dublin rose by 8.3% in December, while prices outside of Dublin were up by 9%.
They also reveal that the lowest median price was €182,250 in Longford, while the highest median price was €660,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
In the 12 months to December, the CSO said that house prices in Dublin rose by 8.7% while apartment prices increased by 6.9%.
The highest house price growth in Dublin was in Fingal at 10% while South Dublin saw a rise of 6.9%.
Outside of Dublin, house prices increased by 9.3% and apartment prices rose by 5.8%.
The region outside of Dublin with the largest growth in house prices was the Border (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo) at 14.2%.
At the other end of the scale, the Mid-East (Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow) saw a 5.9% rise, the CSO said.
The most expensive Eircode area over the 12 months to December was A94 ‘Blackrock’ with a median price of €730,000, while H23 ‘Clones’ had the least expensive price of €131,000.
Today’s figures show that a total of 5,177 purchases by households at market prices were filed with Revenue in December, an increase of 2.3% when compared with the 5,063 purchases in December 2023.
Looking at the full year 2024, the CSO said the median or mid-point price paid for a residential property was €355,000, compared to €327,500 in 2023, €259,000 in 2019 and €155,000 in 2013.
In 2024, a total of 48,775 home purchases were filed with Revenue, which marked a 2.9% decrease compared with the 50,234 purchases in 2023.
The CSO said that property prices nationally have increased by 160.4% from their trough in early 2013.
It noted that Dublin residential property prices have risen by 157.8% from their February 2012 low, while residential property prices in the rest of Ireland are 171.5% higher than at the trough in May 2013.
Commenting on today’s figures, Gerry Griffin, Senior Mortgage Advisor with financial planners and wealth managers NFP Ireland, said that while the pace of price increases has slowed slightly, demand remains strong, and supply is still struggling to keep up.
“If the ECB proceeds with an interest rate cut in March, as widely expected, mortgage rates could fall, boosting borrowing power,” Mr Griffin said.
“While this would benefit buyers, it could also drive further price inflation by increasing competition for available homes. The real issue remains supply -without a significant increase in new housing, lower borrowing costs will likely push prices higher in the short term,” he added.
“For buyers, the key will be to assess affordability carefully. Even with lower interest rates, repayments will still be substantial given the high price levels,” he said.
“For policymakers, the focus must remain on delivering more housing at a faster pace to balance the market and prevent additional pressure on prices,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rachel McGovern, Deputy Chief Executive at Brokers Ireland, said house prices in 2024 rose at levels beyond what most industry commentators expected.
“There are appalling consequences for our society if policymakers don’t turn around housing in the near future and ensure that those on average incomes can achieve the ambition of owning a home,” she said.
“We would call on the Government to be brave and decisive and not let another year pass before it acts on the recommendations of the Housing Commission in particular,” she added.