Rise in house prices in Louth among highest in Leinster

The median asking price for houses going on the market in Louth in the second quarter of this year rose by 6.7% and is now €240,000, according to the MyHome.ie Q2 2023 Property Report released on Monday.

The report shows that annual asking price inflation is now running at 2.2% nationally, with homes now being sold for 1.4% over asking price versus 5-6% this time last year, suggesting a slow down in price inflation.

Looking at Louth, the median asking price for a three-bed semi-detached house was €245,000, representing an annual increase of 8.9%.

The median asking price for two-bedroom apartments in Louth in the second quarter of this year (Q2) however, was €172,000, remaining unchanged from Q1, and represents a decrease annually of 1.71%. Louth, along with Sligo, were the only two counties to see an annual fall in the median asking price.

Median asking prices for four bed semi-detached house prices in Louth increased by 1.64% annually, and now stands at €279,500, which also represents a 2.77% decrease however on the first quarter of this year.

Looking at the report again at a national level, its says that the property market is showing signs of stabilising, with asking price inflation rising in Q2 following three consecutive quarterly declines.

The Q2 2023 report found that annual asking price inflation was 2.2% nationwide, 0.6% in Dublin and 3.5% elsewhere around the country.

The report found that asking prices rose by 4.3% on the quarter nationally and by 3.3% in Dublin. Inflation rose by 4.6% elsewhere around the country over the quarter.

This means the median asking price for new instructions nationally is now €325,000, while the price in Dublin is €418,000 and elsewhere around the country it is €280,000.

The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Davy, said the data suggested that the market was stabilising and may even be generating some momentum.

He comments in the report: “asking prices rose by 4% in Q2 2023, a healthy gain ahead of the busy summer trading season and following three consecutive declines. Housing demand remains resilient. There were €1.27 billion of mortgage approvals in May, a fresh record high. This represents 11.5% volume growth in the numbers of homebuyers with mortgage approval.

“The average approval for house purchase was €298,600 in May, up 3.5% on the year. Despite the European Central Bank’s (ECB) rate hikes, homebuyers are still taking on more debt, pointing to upward pressure on house prices in H2 2023.”

Mr MacCoille added that supply was still an issue but a rising rate of housing starts was encouraging. “The reality is that Ireland’s housing market remains exceptionally tight. The average time to sale agreed in Q2 2023 was still close to a historic low of 3.3 months. There are currently just 14,000 properties listed for sale on MyHome, still well down from pre-pandemic levels which exceeded 20,000.”