Data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) indicates that price inflation of residential property in the UK has surged anew, seeing a year-on-year increase of over 7%. The housing index for the 12 months leading up to this past March shows an average increase of 7.3%, an uplift from last month’s 6.2% increase.
Dublin’s residential property market in March experienced a yearly growth of 7.2%, while areas outside of the capital city had an increment of 7.4% compared to the same period a year ago. This marked the seventh successive month where the principal inflation of the domestic housing market increased.
Though the residential market slowed down last year due to ten interest rate increases initiated by the European Central Bank (ECB), recent supply strains and speculations of the ECB starting a series of interest rate cuts later this year seem to be propelling property prices upwards once more. Additionally, governmental assistance-to-purchase schemes such as Help to Buy and First Home have pushed up prices as they’ve motivated first-time buyers to venture into the market.
The most recent data reveals a 0.4% rise in residential property prices this past March, compared to the previous month. The CSO records show the average home price in the residential market for the 12 months leading up to March was €333,000.
The highest average price was found in Dublin, with a median of €446,000. Within Dublin itself, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown recorded the highest average cost (€620,000), and Fingal the lowest (€410,000). The most expensive average prices outside Dublin were in Wicklow (€445,000) and Kildare (€396,394), with Leitrim recording the lowest at €168,000.
In March, there were 3,314 housing transactions recorded with the Revenue, which is a 20% decrease from last year’s numbers and a slight 0.4% drop from February. The total transaction value in March was approximately €1.3 billion.
Robert Gardiner, an estate agent from Auctioneera, remarked that the CSO’s data over recent months clearly shows a growing trend of price increases nationwide.
“Despite the government’s recent enthusiastic announcements about an increase in new residential starts, the supply in the secondary market remains somewhat sluggish,” he stated.
“There is ongoing competition to acquire properties among first-time purchasers, who are actively attending property viewings,” he added. “Some of these newcomers to property ownership are wishing to settle down in a specific neighbourhood, possibly where they were raised, and the limited availability of previously owned homes in traditionally established residential districts truly has a significant effect,” he said.