Ireland Home Prices Rise 14 Percent in 2014

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According to the Q3, 2014 House Price Report released this week by Ireland property portal Daft.ie, the average asking price for a house in Ireland has risen by 14% over the past year, led by an average rise of 25% in Dublin. The average asking price nationwide is now €195,000 ($248,000), compared to €170,000 ($216,000) a year ago, and €380,000 ($483,000) at the peak.

Prices in Dublin have experienced annual rises of between 18% in North County Dublin and 29% in Dublin's city centre. There were also significant double digit increases recorded in all of Dublin's surrounding counties; Louth 14%, Meath 15%, Kildare 19% and Wicklow 20%.

Cork and Galway cities saw prices rise 11% and 13% respectively over the course of a year, while Waterford city centre experienced a 3% climb. Limerick city asking prices continued to fall over the same period by 4%.

The report also surveys the sentiment and expectation of over 1,000 potential home buyers across the country, with respondents in Dublin stating that they expected prices to continue rising over the next twelve months by an average of 12%. This is the largest expected price rise recorded since the survey began in 2011. Outside of Dublin, respondents' expectations have also heated up; they expect prices to rise by an average of 6%.

Daft.ie economist Ronan Lyons commented, "The total number of properties on the market on October 1st was just over 30,000, the lowest figure since March 2007. Across Leinster, and in Dublin in particular, supply shortages remain and this has helped push up values by a third in Dublin in just two years. The concern is that this supply shortage is now feeding into expectations. While price rises driven by shortages can be stopped by increasing supply, tackling price rises driven by expectations is significantly trickier."