The average price of a home in Ireland has jumped by more than €100,000 in the last five years, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show.
And some experts are warning prices are going to continue to rise in the short term while housing supply struggles to meet demand.
According to data from the CSO, the average sale price of all homes in Ireland in December was €420,656 compared to €296,877 in December 2019.
Its Property Price Register shows that house prices in Ireland increased by 8.7% in 2024, with prices outside Dublin rising by 9%.
Compared to the boom years, house prices are now 16.8% higher while they are over 2.5 times higher than the property crash in early 2013.
CSO statistician Niall Corkery said: “Households paid a median or mid-point price of €355,000 for a residential property in the 12 months to December 2024.
"The lowest median price paid for a dwelling was €182,250 in Longford, while the highest was €660,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.”
The median price of €355,000 in 2024 compares to €259,000 in 2019 and €155,000 in 2013.
The median refers to the middle figure in a row of numbers sorted from top to bottom, as opposed to the average.
While a total of 48,775 properties changed hands in 2024, this was a 2.9% decrease compared with the 50,234 purchases made in 2023.
In 2024, just over a third (36.1%) of buyers were first-time buyers with 11.1% of properties sold to non-occupiers such as charities and funds.
While the price of new homes surged with almost double-digit inflation in 2023, the rate of increase slowed last year with new homes up 5.2% in the last quarter of 2024.
The cost of second-hand homes was up by 10.5% in the last quarter of 2024 and according to some market watchers, further price rises may be on the way.
NFP Senior Mortgage Advisor, Gerry Griffin, said: “House prices continue to rise, making affordability an increasing challenge, particularly for first-time buyers.
"While the pace of price increases has slowed slightly, demand remains strong, and supply is still struggling to keep up.
"If the ECB proceeds with an interest rate cut in March, as widely expected, mortgage rates could fall, boosting borrowing power.
"While this would benefit buyers, it could also drive further price inflation by increasing competition for available homes.
"The real issue remains supply—without a significant increase in new housing, lower borrowing costs will likely push prices higher in the short term.
"For buyers, the key will be to assess affordability carefully. Even with lower interest rates, repayments will still be substantial given the high price levels.
"For policymakers, the focus must remain on delivering more housing at a faster pace to balance the market and prevent additional pressure on prices.”
However, he advised homeowners to look at mortgage switching to avoid overpaying.
"Mortgage switching is on the rise again after years of stagnation," he explained.
"Many homeowners could be overpaying without realising it, making it more important than ever to shop around for the best deal.
"Recent figures showed that in December, Irish mortgage rates dropped to a 20-month low, with the average new mortgage rate now standing at 3.8%.
"The month-on-month decline of 0.17 percentage points from November to December was the largest drop in average rates since the data series began in 2017.
"With the ECB expected to cut rates further in 2025, we can anticipate mortgage costs to continue easing, particularly among non-bank lenders, who still have some of the highest rates.
"However, not all lenders have passed on rate reductions equally, creating a significant gap between the most and least competitive rates.
"This presents a major opportunity for mortgage holders to save by switching.”
