MyHome report finds Louth property prices steady in final quarter of 2024

Property prices in Louth have remained unchanged during the quarter, according to the latest MyHome Property Price Report.

The report for Q4 2024, in association with Bank of Ireland, shows that the median asking price for a property in the county is still €250,000. This means prices have remained the same compared with this time last year.

Asking prices for a 3-bed semi-detached house in the county also stayed steady over the quarter at €259,000. This means that prices in the segment have risen by €9,000 compared to this time last year.

Meanwhile, the asking price for a 4-bed semi-detached house in Louth rose by €7,500 over the quarter to €297,500. This price is up by €18,000 compared to this time last year.

There were 258 properties for sale in Louth at the end of Q4 2024 – a decrease of 11% over the quarter.

The average time for a property to go sale agreed in the county after being placed up for sale now stands at just over two and a half months.

The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland, said: “The message from this report is that pricing has retained its momentum, and has still not softened even as affordability has become stretched through 2024.

“Demand is still fierce in the market and indeed has strengthened as the year has gone on. This demand has been impacted by rising mortgage approval values, and the first-time buyer market is particularly hot.

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“Household savings are playing their part in this demand; new Central Bank data show the average first-time-buyer purchase price was €375,000 in H1 2024, up €21,000 (or 6%) on the year, two-thirds of which was accounted for by mortgage debt, but one-third (or €7,300) by larger deposits.”

Joanne Geary, Managing Director of MyHome, said: “Our latest report shows the extent of the demand in the property market, with residential transactions on average being settled at 9% over the asking price and annual asking prices nationwide at their highest level since summer 2022.

“In our last report, we noted that Ireland would need an additional 200,000 homes to match the UK’s housing to population ratio. This time, we drew the comparison on the demand side, with first-time buyers here now taking on more debt relative to income than their UK counterparts for the first time since the Celtic tiger era.

“As we look to the rest of the year, a key metric to watch will be housing completions. Given we do not see any short-term easing in demand, it underscores the importance of increasing our stock levels.”