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.

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland

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.