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PROPERTY PRICES IN Ireland rose by an average of 7.9% in the 12 months to April 2024, as the housing market is said to be “heating up” again.
Prices are now nearly 10% more expensive than they were during the boom in April 2007.
Bank of Ireland has said it’s no surprise given the lack of homes available, and the average income rising by 4.3% to €50,400 in the same period.
The average first time buyer, 2023 data from the Central Bank shows, had a salary of €88,000 and was an average age of 35.
The Central Statistics Office’s Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) for April was up 0.4% on the month, with the annual inflation rate accelerating to 7.9%, the fastest pace since end-2022.
In just the first four months of 2024 the RPPI has increased by 2%, leading the CSO to revise its original prediction of 3.5% for the full year.
RPPI house price inflation in April was 8.8% in Dublin, but was also 7.3% in the rest of Ireland, including; the border region (5.4%), midlands (9.1%), west (7.2%), mid-east (6.1%), mid-west (9.7%), south east (6.8%) and south-west (8.6%).
Bank of Ireland says another factor affecting the housing market has been the relaxation of the Central Bank’s mortgage lending rules, specifically, the increase in the regulatory threshold on first-time-buyer loan-to-income (LTI) ratios from 3.5x to 4x.
This change came into effect in January 2023.
“Looking forward, the LTI distribution is likely to continue shifting the right, increasingly bunched close to the new 4x limit, as homebuyers compete for homes by taking out higher levels of mortgage debt,” Bank of Ireland said.
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FFG’s legacy. The party of landlords and vulture funds. The party of milking our population to the benefit of foreign investors who contribute nothing to development, buying whole estates to profit via rent with multibillion euro/dollar/yen corporations competing against normal buyers. FFG are bringing about a demographics crisis because young people, average earners cannot get on the social housing list because their incomes are too high, but too low for a mortgage on the crazy priced housing stock. This means fewer families. To those of you voting in FFG because you are blinded by greed in seeing your property value shooting up – a smart government would create alternative ways of building wealth like relaxing rules on ETFs, not ruining a whole generation by pricing them out of housing.
@DCQ: it’s disgraceful. Another service run into the ground. Don’t know how Martin has the audacity to shake their hands on any of his PR exercises with them!!
@Sean Stevenson: eliminate the investment culture solely in property and foster investment across other areas.Make property about having a home again. As you say etf tax reduction, reduce tax on profits on green investment returns. They could do a multitude but the people in government are neck deep invested in property at a political level and many at a personal level. Basically the irish government are corrupt.
@DCQ: I can’t see any articles relating to our “Teflon Taoiseach” treatment of our defence forces.
@Mr “JonnieBoy” Johnson: Completely missing the point! Demand exceeds supply, doesn’t matter who is buying the properties or whether or not they are rented or owner occupied. If demand exceeds supply they will keep going up. When supply exceeds demand they will start coming down!
That’s how simple this is
@DCQ: So is MM the “Teflon Taoiseach” or “Teflon Tanaiste”. You don’t seem to know
@DCQ: It’s not hard really. Maybe give a little bit more attention, and then you can moan about the correct issues.
@Sean Stevenson: @DCQ: fewer family’s is right, watch the birth rate dwindle and drop. We’ll have a large portion of older people coming to pension age as time goes on and less working just as Japan,italy now has and others following suit. But its all well planned out with unaffordable rents and mortgages and people growing old with now less income put to the streets its inevitable if we can’t house those who need it now. But sure let’s increase immigration and in turn add more to the mix which is unsustainable and call anyone who says it won’t work a racist. Wait until the bubble bursts worked well last time in 2008 despite warnings.
@DCQ: a military group accused the Tanaiste. Yet you blamed the Taoiseach when you were moaning about not being able to comment. So again maybe pay more attention and you’ll get the details correct
@Fran Ken: O fran ken non
-sense… The powers that be strangulated supply for an extended period to pump the demand and create massively increased profits. That’s how simple it is, you have no idea if you think the market is a ‘simple’ natural supply and demand model God love you. Big money here and therefore there are market makers , just as there are in the stock market, they make the market move to their tune.
@Sean Stevenson: as the owner of 8 properties I am absolutely delighted with this news. I deserve it for all my hard work :)
@Mr “JonnieBoy” Johnson: Absolutely agree! Aside from during the development phase there is absolutely no societal benefit of corporations owning residential housing units. A build and transfer to private ownership model needs to be introduced. Limited liability is not a good thing in the housing market!
@Fran Ken: a lot of the demand is being created by corporations who seek to convert perspective homeowners into long term renters. Remove these corporations from the chain and the market will open up for a lot more private individuals and their families.
A life on the dole waiting for your cheap social house while working for cash on the side has never looked more attractive. It would actually be a better long term option than slaving away working 70 hours a week living with mammy and daddy paying insane tax rates trying to graft a deposit for yourself.
@DCQ: because the ordinary working people are willing to take it, every time. Have a demonstration and see how many turn up. Sad, Irish worker are worn down by government and can’t or won’t fight back.
@Dan The Man: made easier if you have a criminal record otherwise you can’t use that line when asked why you can’t find employment. In essence preventing you’re dole from being cut from discrimination ,amazing actually rhymes with the word criminal. So that term I suppose is described as criminal discrimination.
@Mr “JonnieBoy” Johnson: if any worker threatens industrial action the MSM go full swing into attack mode on the workers. No surprise at all we’re been taken for mugs
Amazing I don’t know anybody earning the ‘average salary of 88,000′. I do however know people earning the average salary of 25000-40000 at best and struggling to meet rising costs. It is very disheartening what they have done to peoples futures that the average person can no longer hope to own or rent a home affordably even on a good salary. If we cannot house people in the country would someone please explain how we can house those entering it, please explain it. Not the roderic o gorman way ‘we have an obligation to house immigrants’– how if what’s here can’t be housed and won’t be regardless of nationality?????
@Paddy C: Neither do I. I’m hoping it’s a mistake and it’s meant to be the average first time “buyers”. But somehow I doubt it
@Paddy C: The average first time buyer figures include couples so it would be quite easy to hit €88k between them even where you have one person who is not highly paid (e.g. a nurse on €36k) and one person who is not highly skilled (e.g. a guard on €52k).
Full time minimum wage is about €26k (less than 10% of earners are on minimum wage by the way) and average wages are about €50k, but a more representative figure is median earnings, which are about €45k – half of all earners get more than this, half get below this.
It wasn’t always the case that two incomes were required to buy a house but it is certainly the case for most people now. This has nothing to do with immigration by the way, but that’s a different debate altogether.
@Kevin Collins: yes it may be a different debate but there’s no getting away from the fact that supply dictates demand. If a couple are earning 88,000 between them that also on another decade entows the fact that they will both most likely just about meet payments at best and have to sacrifice a lot in life aswel as having kids etc to keep up payments that’s being realistic. The point is the way things had been long ago in this country working,buying/renting a home starting a family has become a fantasy for many and is extremely unfair to those who did not create this mess but worked hard and will continue to contribute to no avail.
@Paddy C: Given the average first time buyer age of 35, after a decade they will *likely* have career progression and income growth and this will obviously help with raising a family etc.
Raising a family has always been a struggle. Houses may have been cheaper a generation ago but we tend to overlook that there was a lot of abject poverty back then and also that it was a pretty bleak and depressing place too. The major difference in the housing market between now and the 1970s or 1980s isn’t income or immigration, but is mostly to do with our shift away from building social housing.
I don’t think everyone should get a free house by the way, but if the pressure was eased on the lowest rung of the housing ladder, it would reduce the pressure on the next rung, and so on and so forth.
@Kevin Collins: The degree to which the housing situation has deteriorated is not down to immigration. It has been dysfunctional for a long time now. But the fact that there are thousands of asylum seekers arriving each year means that immigrants will inevitably get some of the flack given that people from this country cannot find anywhere to live. I would say it’s a failure of government but it’s actually government policy in action.
@Kevin Collins: A first. A sensible, well thought out and delivered comment on here.
@John Moore: over 200000 people have come as refugees in the last 2 years, yes the government is a joke but these people have to be put somewhere and only 1/3of properties built can be bought buy the public. The other 2/3s is going to mostly non Irish people. No its not the migrants fault but they are making the situation worse
Quote from the ESRI: “The economic crisis that hit Ireland in 2008 stemmed from an uncontrolled real estate bubble that had de veloped over the previous five years, and the resulting collapse in the domestic financial system, which was heavily exposed to the property market.” Think we are on rinse and repeat.
@Sohoma Roanie: ‘lessons learned’ and in the words of finance minister at that time brian cowen ‘I don’t accept that’.
@Sohoma Roanie: Not much reckless lending now though. Huge deficit of properties now too, around 250,000 in the hole….. Thanks FG. There was also a crash worldwide and we were particularly exposed by the carry one by the banks in the years prior.
@Sohoma Roanie: It will be worse this time when the bubble bursts.
It’s a 4% unemployment rate, nearly 3.9% at the moment. People are entitled to social housing if their salary is under 40k. They work and pay pay their taxes.
@Áine G: save for it, like the rest of us
@Shane O Mac: How do you save when average yearly rents are 3.5k more expensive that a mortgage, 8k in Dublin? Whilst those looking to buy a house certainly need to save hard and cut out all the luxuries of foreign holidays,nights out, take aways etc etc.. the cards are stacked against them regardless. Being smug because you own a house( well the bank does) doesn’t help anyone. But then again, you don’t seem like the type who wants to help anyone but themselves.
@Shane O Mac: Brilliant…how stupid nobody thought of that!
@Áine G: unfortunately government doesn’t care about everyday people just about what Brussels may want and what we blindly signed up to,great times ahead
@Shane O Mac: aint that the truth. We need to ‘save up’ to be allowed live in elitist Ireland.
@Brian: life can be cruel, stay at your parents, build up savings, like I had to do and many others have done also. Yes I own a house, had to save for a deposit first, and also had to deal with 10 increase over the last number of years
@Thesaltyurchin: cant expect a free house either. Can’t afford to move out, rent or buy, stay at home at your parent’s. It is what it is
most being fueled by councils and housing agency’s paying any price to hand them out to “deserving applicants “….few of which are people on the housing list for years ..
7.9% wage increase for the idle landlord who has his homes paid for him by the working tenant now. The homeownership model has been abandoned.
@9QRixo8H: homeownership is far abandoned. Where I live in the last 5 years 4 new housing estates have been built the smallest one had 124 houses in it. Before the groundwork was broken on any of the estate every home was sold off. 3 months ago planning permission was approved for 3 apartments blocks each 6 stories high. All 2 and 3 bed apartments have been snapped up again before any work has started. So why talk rubbish?
@Ger Whelan: And who bought up that estate? Look at the dramatic drop in homeownership statistics under this new landlord model. Our homes are increasingly being owned by foreign landlords.
@9QRixo8H: my 8 properties were paid for through hard work, I deserve my wealth :)
What do you expect when you vote for FG & FF again and again and again
It was never easy to buy a place on your own. Plenty apartments where I live for 350,000
Prices are now nearly 10% more than they were in 2007 …. why does that sound like it’s way off, certainly in Dublin?
There currently some good properties in Dublin 4 beds plus around the million mark , 4 people or 4 people and their partners could afford, the mortgage would be reasonable enough and with some sacrifice the option to save. With the right 5 year plan you would be able to afford your own place then.
@Be Lucky: Dealing bags on the side lol
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