THE CENTRAL STATISTICS Office has published its residential property index for May, which shows the average price being paid for a home is €197,699.

As a whole, residential property prices at a national level increased by 11.9% in the 12 months to May.

This compares with an increase of 10% in the 12 months to April and an increase of 5.4% on May 2016.

In Dublin, house prices are up 11.5%, while apartments are up 8% in the same period. The biggest house price growth was in South Dublin, at 12.4%, while the lowest growth was in Fingal, with house prices rising 6.8%.

The biggest annual change in house prices across Ireland is found in the south-east of the country, rising nearly a fifth (18.6%) in the past 12 months.

County breakdown

Source: CSO.ie

Across the country, only Longford had an average house price that was under €100,000.

Longford’s average price was €90,502, closely followed by Roscommon with €101,242 and Donegal with €115,147.

The most expensive place by council district was Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, where the average house cost €564,034.

Outside Dublin, Wicklow had the most expensive house prices in Leinster, with an average price of €317,585.

Cork had the most expensive homes in Munster, with an average of €211,933.

In Ulster, Monaghan had the highest average house price at €132,665.

Since property prices reached their lowest in Ireland in early 2013, the average price of homes in Ireland have increased by 68.1%, according to the CSO.

Dublin residential property prices have increased has increased by 68.1% over this time.

Commenting today, Davy Research said the average mortgage approval to first-time buyers increased by 10.2% in the 12 months to May, to €208,400.

“Looking forward, we expect rising incomes and leverage will continue to drive Irish house prices higher,” a statement by Davy Research said.

“Given that there are now just 21,000 homes listed for sale (around 1% of the housing stock), would-be buyers will almost certainly seek to take out more highly leveraged loans as they compete for homes.”

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