House Price Growth Cools, But Available Stock Is At Historic Lows

The average value of secondhand homes in Ireland increased by 1.2% in the third quarter, with values up 3.2% in the first nine months of the year, according to agent Sherry FitzGerald.

Growth reached 5.5% in the same period last year, it said in its latest market report.

In Dublin, there was a further rise of 0.5% in the third quarter, bringing cumulative price growth in the year to 30 September to 1.8%. This is well down on the growth of 5.2% recorded during the same time period in 2022.

However, the number of secondhand properties listed for sale across the country in July 2023 was 13,750, just 0.7% of the entire private housing stock in Ireland.

The stock of properties available for sale has fallen by 10.2% since July 2022, according to the agent, which estimated that Ireland needs to build approximately 52,000 units per annum for the next decade to satisfy demand.

It said that price growth continues to be stronger outside of Dublin in regional and rural Ireland where the stock available for sale is significantly tighter. In the third quarter of 2023, values rose 1.1%, bringing cumulative year-to-date growth to 4.1%.

“There is now clear evidence of a moderation in price inflation throughout the market following 14 months of persistent interest rate increases,” Sherry FitzGerald Managing Director Marian Finnegan said. “However, the disparity between supply and demand for housing continues to underpin the market. Our latest analysis shows that the stock of available housing to purchase has fallen to an historic low across the country.” 

This was underlined when the Merrion Hotel announced its results on 26 September and told The Irish Times that it was considering building accommodation for staff at a site it owns near its hotel amid competition for new hires.

“The hotel is progressing its plan to provide staff accommodation and is in planning at the moment,” a spokeswoman said.

In terms of transaction activity, this remained stable in the first half of the year, Finnegan said, with over 26,800 sales recorded on the property price register, excluding block sales and new homes acquired for social housing.

“This represented a modest increase of 2.1% on the levels of a year ago. That said, the shortage of available properties could result in a contraction in activity in the latter months of the year,” Finnegan added.

In the secondhand market, activity remained steady, with approximately 22,450 units sold, in line with first-half 2022 figures.