Home Prices Rising in Early 2022 in Ireland

As per the current report of property portal Daft. during the first three months of 2022, Ireland home prices rose by 2.4% on an average. The average listed price nationwide in the first quarter of 2022 was €299,093, up 8.4% on the same period in 2021 and just 19% below the Celtic Tiger peak.

Increases remain smaller in urban areas, compared to rural areas, although the gap is narrowing.

Prices in the first quarter of 2022 in Dublin, Cork and Galway cities were roughly 4% higher on average than a year previously, while in Limerick and Waterford cities, the increases were 7.6% and 9.3% respectively.

Outside the five main cities, prices rose by an average of 12.3% in the year to March 2022. The increase in Munster (outside the cities) was 13.3%, while in Leinster excluding Dublin, prices rose by 8.7%.

The largest increase in prices in the country was seen in Connacht-Ulster, where prices rose by 20.1% in the year to March – the highest rate recorded for the region since the series began in 2006.

On Marsh 1st only 10,000 homes were listed for sale, another new low in a series stretching back to July 2006, when online advertising was still emerging. During 2019, the average number of homes for sale on the market at any one time was just over 17,500.

Commenting on the report, its author Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin, said, “Inflation in housing prices remains stubbornly high – with Covid19 disturbing an equilibrium of sorts that had emerged, with prices largely stable in 2019 but increasing since. As has been the case consistently over the last decade, increasing prices – initially in Dublin and then elsewhere – reflects a combination of strong demand and very weak supply.

“Both new and second-hand supply remain weaker than expected before the pandemic. Combined with unexpected strong demand, due to accidental savings during lockdown, this has driven up prices. Additional supply – of all types of homes, for sale but also market rental and social rental housing – remains the only real solution to solving Ireland’s chronic housing shortage.”

Average list price and year-on-year change – major cities, Q1 2022

• Dublin City: €415,117 – up 4.0%
• Cork City: €318,380 – up 3.9%Galway City: €335,280 – up 4.3%
• Limerick City: €240,655 – up 7.6%
• Waterford City: €218,866 – up 9.3%
• Rest of the country: €249,507 – up 12.3%