Houses prices are still rising year-on-year

House prices in Cork are continuing to rise year-on-year with the latest report from Daft.ie showing that prices in both the city and county were higher in the fourth quarter of 2023 than they were during the same period in 2022.

In Cork city, the average price for a house now stands at €337,550, with prices in the final three months of 2023 3.7% higher than a year previously. However, this is a slight dip of 1% on the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the average house price in the county stands at €286,869, which is a 6.4% increase on 2022 but a 1.9% decline on quarter 3 of 2023. According to the report, the supply of houses is down, with just over 3,100 homes on the market in Munster on 1 December, a 23% decrease year-on-year and the lowest total since early 2022. The number of homes available to buy nationwide on 1 December stood at just over 11,100.

This is down 27% year-on-year and is the lowest since March 2022. It is also less than half the 2019 average of 24,200.

The fall in availability, which started in the middle of the year, can be seen in all major regions of the country, although it’s proportionately largest in Dublin which was down 33% year-on-year. Nationally, housing prices during 2023 rose by an average of 3.4%, the smallest increase since 2019. The typical listed price nationwide in the final three months of the year was €320,046, 1.5% lower than in the third quarter and roughly 14% below the Celtic Tiger peak.

Commenting on the report, its author Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin, said: “Having increased in the second half of 2022, the availability of homes fell throughout 2023. The number of homes on the market is now at levels only previously seen during the pandemic.”

He also spoke about the building of homes nationwide:

“The construction of new homes has improved over the past five years and looks set to continue into 2024 and potentially 2025.

“However, the second-hand market remains critical to the overall health of the housing system. If uncertainty continues to fade, and potentially interest rates start to fall again, it may be the case that 2024 sees the second-hand market recover.”

People Before Profit TD Mick Barry said that house prices in Cork are still too high for young people trying to buy their first home despite the new Daft.ie House Price Report showing a dip in prices in the final quarter of last year.

He said: “Whatever way you look at this - a small decline in price at the end of the year, or a significant rise in price over the year as a whole - house prices are still way too high for young people looking to buy their first home.

“The Government are failing to deliver affordable housing and I think they will pay a heavy price for this when the next election comes around.”