THE average price to own a home in Limerick now stands at over €250,000, according to a new report, as Limerick shows the largest housing price spike of any city in the country.
The quarterly Daft.ie Irish House Price Report was published this week and shows that it now costs prospective buyers over a quarter of a million euro to buy a home in the county.
The report found that the average home price in County Limerick stood at €251,249 in the last three months of 2023.
Meanwhile, city buyers would have to shell out even more, with the average price of a city home standing at €271,203.
Both the city and county saw a similar increase year-on-year, with house prices in the county up 9.9 per cent since the end of 2022, as prices in the city similarly rose nine per cent year-on-year.
Limerick City had the highest price hikes of any city in Ireland in the final quarter of 2023.
More broadly in Munster, house prices were down 1.6 per cent in quarter four, compared to quarter three of 2023, the first quarterly fall in a year.
However, despite the quarterly fall, prices in Munster were up 6.8 per cent year-on-year.
Author of the report, and associate professor of economics at Trinity College Dublin, Professor Ronan Lyons said that there was a drop in the number of homes for sale across Ireland in December.
“On December 1, there were just over 11,100 homes for sale in the country… [which] is very low compared to almost any point over the past 15 years.”
“Housing prices are stabilising not because supply has increased to meet demand, but instead because demand has fallen to meet it,” Professor Lyons claimed.
However, head of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV), Pat Davitt, says barriers to home ownership for those on an average salary need to be addressed.
“Availability of homes, and at affordable prices for those on average wages, has been and remains the main issue stalking the market for the last decade,” he said.
Interest rate hikes by the ECB remain one of the biggest issues, according to Mr Davitt, meaning only those on higher than average salaries can think about applying for a mortgage.
“This means activity in the housing market is largely confined to those on higher than average incomes and those who are in the fortunate position to be able to buy homes without needing a mortgage, or perhaps a small supplementary mortgage. This latter group could be as high as 40 per cent,” he said.
Mr Davitt concluded: “In 2024, the Government needs to look urgently at addressing deep impediments that have changed little over the last decade, including the high State take on home building, planning policy chaos and policy makers and influencers antipathy towards, and fear of being seen to aid SME builders and developers who have traditionally been the mainstay of the Irish home building sector.”
