Irish home asking prices rise at highest rate since 2022: report

ASKING prices for Irish homes rose in the final quarter at the highest rate since June 2022, according to a report, as transaction activity nears levels seen during Ireland’s Celtic tiger growth era.

National asking prices for the fourth quarter of 2024 were up 8.4 per cent over the year, property portal MyHome said in its quarterly report in association with Bank of Ireland. The average residential transaction is now being settled for 9 per cent over the asking price, with one in seven homes still settling for a minimum of 20 per cent over the asking price, it added.

It shows that competition for homes in Ireland, where there is a chronic shortage, remains intense. MyHome forecasts a 4 per cent rise in Irish house prices in 2025, driven by European Central Bank rate cuts and household savings.

New Central Bank data show the average first-time-buyer purchase price was 375,000 euros (S$528,785) in the first half of 2024, up 6 per cent on the year, two-thirds of which was accounted for by mortgage debt, but one-third by larger deposits.

“Irish first-time buyers are also now taking on more debt relative to income than their UK counterparts for the first time since the Celtic Tiger era,” Joanne Geary, managing director at MyHome said in the report. “With this additional debt, falling interest rates and a booming labour market, it stands to reason that demand has become fiercer during the year.” BLOOMBERG