The average price of a house in Co Cork last year was €207,211 – up 7.7% year-on-year – with experts predicting further hikes of around 8% in 2018.
By Emma Connolly
THE average price of a house in Co Cork last year was €207,211 – up 7.7% year-on-year – with experts predicting further hikes of around 8% in 2018.
In Cork city the average house price was €260,000 – up 5.1% on the previous 12 months, with Ballincollig prices now 22% off what they were at their peak.
It’s forecast that the market will continue to experience above-trend price growth this year, with current indications suggesting hikes of around 6-8% in established housing markets, including Cork.
Nationally, prices rose by more than €20,000 on average during 2017, according to the latest House Price Report released by Ireland’s property website, Daft.ie. This means that the average price was almost €241,000, 9.2% higher than a year ago. Compared to their lowest point in 2013, prices nationwide have risen by an average of almost 47% or just over €76,500.
In Galway, prices jumped by 8.1%. In Limerick city, prices rose by 6.9% during the year, while in Waterford, the increase was 8.6%.
In Dublin, prices rose by 11.7% during the year, the first year since 2014 the rate of inflation in the capital exceeds the national average.
Outside the main cities, prices rose by 7.5% during 2017.
Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft.ie Report, said: ‘The overall picture of the market remains one of strong demand but very tight supply, in particular of new homes. As we enter 2018, increasing supply – especially of apartments in Ireland’s major cities – must become the key success metric for policymakers when it comes to the housing market.’
Martin Clancy from Daft.ie added: ‘Interest and demand in the property market continues to grow. We are now seeing over 1,000 property searches taking place every minute on Daft.ie.’
Sherry FitzGerald, Ireland’s largest estate agents, announced that Cork’s property had seen price growth of 7.3% over the 12-month period.
Marian Finnegan, chief economist with Sherry FitzGerald Group said: ‘A strengthening economy, strong employment growth and notable demographic pressures have all led to significant upward pressure on the demand for housing. This has resulted in a period of heightened price growth. This is most notable in the established housing markets of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway, where the supply side pressures are most apparent.’
‘Looking to the year ahead, other things being equal, it seems that the market will continue to experience above-trend price growth with current indications suggesting prices will increase by 6-8% in the established markets.’