PROPERTY PRICES INCREASED by 7.9% in the 12 months to May, with the median price of a home costing €370,000.

That’s according to the latest Residential Property Price Index published today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The 7.9% increase in the year to May is an increase on the 7.6% rise in the 12 months to April.

Property prices in Dublin rose by 6.9%, while prices outside Dublin were up by 8.7% when compared with May 2024.

The median price of a home in the 12 months to May was €370,000.

The highest median price for a dwelling was €670,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, while the lowest median price was €186,000 in Leitrim.

In the 12 months to May, house prices in Dublin rose by 6.8% while apartment prices increased by 7.2%.

The highest house price growth in Dublin was in Fingal, at 9.3%, while Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown saw a rise of 5.1%.

Outside Dublin, house prices were up by 8.9% and apartment prices rose by 6.7%.

The region outside of Dublin that saw the largest growth in house prices was the Border counties of Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo at 11.1%.

At the other end of the scale, the South-East (Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford) saw a 7.7% rise.

Meanwhile, the CSO noted that Dublin residential property prices are 5.3% higher than their February 2007 peak, while residential property prices in the rest of Ireland are 20.5% higher than their May 2007 peak.

Property prices nationally have increased by 165% from their trough in early 2013.

In May, some 3,824 dwelling purchases by households were filed with the Revenue Commissioners, at a total value of €1.6 billion.

These purchases were made up of 2,913 existing dwellings and 911 new dwellings.

Revenue data also shows there were 1,388 first-time buyer purchases in May.

‘Bleak outlook’

Brokers Ireland, the leading representative body for insurance and financial brokers n Ireland, said that rising property prices indicate that the “outlook is bleak for prospective buyers, those who need to move from an existing home, and indeed renters, given the shortage of supply”.

Rachel McGovern, Deputy Chief Executive at Brokers Ireland, pointed to recent ESRI data that forecast 33,000 united this year and around 37,000 next year.

Last year, the government missed its housing target by roughly 10,000 units, with 30,330 new homes built. 

McGovern said these missed targets are “very worrying”.

“It’s hard to envisage how any new housing plan by Government can turn this around in the short-term,” said McGovern, who added that doing so will require “dramatic and unprecedented” measures.

Meanwhile, McGovern remarked that a consequence of the increase in property prices is that those who need mortgages are taking on “ever larger levels of debt”.

“The Central Bank mortgage measures are not and could never be sufficient to deal with this situation,” said McGovern.

“Parents are digging very deep into their resources to help first-time buyers to get a foothold in the market.”

McGovern said increased supply is the “only solution” and that the Government’s new housing plan “must address the impediments in zoning, planning and infrastructure, and be prepared to face up to and confront any vested interests standing in the way”.