Irish house prices fall for the first time in three years

Simon Kelly

The number of available homes is also up from last year.

House prices in Ireland have fallen for the first time in three years in year-on-year terms, according to a new report.

The latest Daft.ie report found that house prices in the second quarter of 2023 were 0.5% lower than the same period for 2022.

The report also says that the average listed house price between March and June 2023 was €309,648, up 2.4% from the first quarter of the year.

However, it was slightly lower than this time last year and one-sixth below the Celtic Tiger peak.

Three major Irish cities see big drop in house prices

Dublin prices were on average 0.6% lower than a year previously, with the city centre experiencing a 2.7% drop while Cork and Galway cities saw larger falls in year-on-year terms, of 3.3% and 2.1% respectively. However, Limerick city, saw a price rise of 1.1% higher than a year ago.

Commenting on the report, its author Ronan Lyons, an economist at Trinity College Dublin, said:

“The change in market conditions over the last 12 months is clear from the figures in this latest report. A year ago, double-digit inflation in housing prices was still prevalent across much of the country. Now, very few markets are seeing prices more than a percentage point or two higher than a year ago – and those increases largely reflect increases seen March-June last year.

But while demand has weakened, the post-covid recovery in supply also appears to be weakening, in both new and second-hand segments. Thus, while this year is unlikely to bring any substantial increases in housing prices, underlying issues stemming from housing shortages will persist.”

The number of homes available on the market is also up this quarter, at just over 13,000. That marks a 5% increase on the same date last year, however, it still massively lags behind the 2019 average of 24,200.