Property prices across Ireland have increased by 8% in the year to February, according to the latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). This represents a slight easing from the 8.2% annual growth recorded in January.
The CSO Residential Property Price Index reveals significant regional variations, with prices outside Dublin climbing by 8.7%, while properties in the capital saw a more modest increase of 7.1%. The median price of a home nationwide now stands at €360,000.
The border region, comprising Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo, experienced the most dramatic price growth at 13.4%. In contrast, the mid-east counties of Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow recorded the lowest regional increase at 5.8%.
Rachel McGovern, deputy chief executive at Brokers Ireland, expressed concern about the continuing upward trajectory of house prices, describing the current situation as “disturbing” and criticizing the “dysfunction of housing policy.”
“We’re talking about ongoing growth in house prices which are already high,” McGovern stated. “Housing policy must break with the disturbing acceptance there has been of the low level of housing delivery.”
McGovern called for urgent and decisive government action to address the housing crisis, criticizing the incremental approach to increasing supply despite rapid population growth. She dismissed the notion that an economic recession might be needed to moderate house price growth as “appalling.”
While acknowledging government promises of new initiatives, including a housing czar and a Strategic Housing & Infrastructure Delivery Office, McGovern emphasized that the barriers to adequate housing supply are well-known, and that actions to address them need to be “urgent, unprecedented, brave and decisive.”