Annual inflation in residential property prices slowed by more than a percentage point from 9.7% to 8.6% in October, with prices up 7% in Dublin and 9.8% in the rest of Ireland, according to the latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures.
The median price of a home purchased in the 12 months to the end of November was static at €300,000, with the highest median prices recorded in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (€620,000) and the lowest in Longford (€150,000).
November saw 4,901 dwelling purchases, an increase of 7.3% year-on-year from November 2021 (4,566), with existing homes accounting for 83.2% of transactions. The total value of transactions filed in November was €1.8bn.
Recent evidence showed that prices paid for three-bedroom semi-detached homes in Dublin are now declining for the first time in three years. The rate of growth in property prices in November was the lowest since July 2021 (8.5%) or 16 months.
Trevor Grant, chair of the Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors, said however that demand still comfortably exceeds supply and that prices would remain elevated even while growth is slowing.
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"There are thousands of hungry house hunters out there whose primary goal is to secure a home and unfortunately, they are all vying for a limited number of suitable properties. Whilst the frenzied bidding activity seems to have dissipated, there is still plenty of competition," Grant said.
"For many of those renting, mortgage payments would still be less than rental commitments, despite the recent and potential future increase in interest rates. On the mortgage side, applications for new mortgages and to switch continue at a pace."
In Dublin, house prices increased 7.1% and apartment prices were up 6.4%. Within Dublin, the highest house price growth was recorded in south Dublin at 11%, while Dublin city saw growth of 5.1%.
The most expensive Eircode for the 12 months to November was Blackrock (€745,000) while Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo was the cheapest (€125,000).
Outside Dublin, house prices were up by 10.2% and apartment prices rose by 4.7%. The region outside of Dublin that saw the largest rise in house prices was the west (Galway, Mayo, Roscommon) at 15.6%, while at the other end of the scale, the south-west (Cork, Kerry) saw an 8.1% rise.
Property prices are now 3% higher than the pre-crash peak recorded in April 2007. In Dublin, prices are 5.9% lower than their February 2007 level, and in the rest of Ireland, prices are 2.2% above their May 2007 high.
Property prices nationally have increased 129.7% since early 2017. In Dublin, prices have risen 133% since February 2012, and in the rest of Ireland, prices are 135.2% higher than in May 2013.
The price of new homes rose 9.1% year-on-year in the third quarter, up from 7.9% in Q2 and 3.2% in Q3 2021, while the price of existing dwellings rose 12.7% from the previous year, compared to 16.2% in Q2 and 13%in Q3 2021.
Overall, prices of new dwellings have risen by 93.3% from their trough in the middle of 2013. Prices of existing dwellings are now 131.9% higher than at their trough in 2012.
First-time buyers made up 33.2% of residential property purchases (16,598) in the year to November, compared to 53.5% for former owner-occupiers (26,752), and 13.3% for non-occupiers (6,632).
