Irish house prices return to double-digit growth

House prices in the Republic continued their upward climb in August, hitting double-digit growth as demand remained strong.
The latest official figures indicate that prices nationally rose at an annual rate of 10.1 per cent in the year to August, up from a rate of 9.6 per cent in July. It was the 12th consecutive month to see an increase in headline inflation, a worrying trend for prospective buyers.
On a monthly basis, prices were up by 0.9 per cent.
In Dublin, the level of price growth was even stronger at 10.8 per cent year on year.
The ongoing rise in prices appears to be down to a combination of factors including a shortage of supply, Government help-to-buy schemes and cheaper mortgage rates in anticipation of further interest rate reductions.
The figures from the latest residential property price index, compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), suggest households paid a median or mid-point price of €345,000 for a home in the 12 months to August. The lowest median price paid for a dwelling was €175,000 in Longford, while the highest was €635,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
The CSO’s index has now reached the value of 185.6, which is 13.4 per cent above its highest level during the property boom in April 2007. Prices outside Dublin are 14 per cent higher than their May 2007 peak while homes in the capital are now 1.8 per cent higher than their February 2007 peak.
The CSO said 3,990 purchases by households at market prices were registered with Revenue in August, a 15.5 per cent fall on the previous month.