HOUSE-HUNTERS LOOKING to live in a three-bed house in Ireland will have to shell out over €200,000 for the first time since the economic crash.
A new survey by Real Estate Alliance (REA) shows that national house prices are up to pre-crash levels.
Prices in Dublin city grew by 2.75% to €373,333 since June – almost twice the growth experienced in the same area in the second quarter of the year as buyers chase a scarce supply of suitable housing.
In Dublin, one agent, Ed Dempsey in Clonskeagh, is reporting increases of €25,000 for sale prices over the past three months, with the average three-bed semi increasing by 5.49% from €455,000 in June to €480,000 now.
The REA says that the Dublin rise is due to an increase of mortgage-backed buyers on the market chasing a limited supply.
The average three bed semi nationally now costs €200,093, an increase of €4,732 (2.42%) since the end of June. This is a rise of 6.37% against the same time last year.
Prices in the tier containing commuter counties and the main cities of Cork and Galway have risen by an average of just under €3,000 to €217,176 (1.21%) while those in the rest of the country have increased by nearly €5,000 to €133,268.
REA chairman Michael O’Connor says that the issue is a lack of supply.
We are seeing little or no increase in supply nationally, with an increase in funded buyers fueling the market in the short-term.
“The Central Bank’s mortgage deposit rules are still being keenly felt in the commuter areas, with most rises occurring in towns where three-bed semis are available for under the deposit threshold of €220,000.”
Read: What are house prices going to do in 2016?
Read: Residential property prices are up almost 7% compared to a year ago
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