Average house price rises again in Limerick

THE AVERAGE house price in Limerick has gone up by 13% year-on-year, a new survey has shown.

Data from property sales and rental website www.daft.ie reveals that the cost of a typical home is closing on on €300,000.

This is based on data taken between March and June 2023, compared to between the same period in 2024.

In the year before this, there had been a rise of four percent in the city, according to the survey.

In Limerick City, the average price of a home is now €292,000, while in rural Limerick, a typical house costs €272,000.

READ MORE: Major housing development in Limerick town receives green light from planners

Across the province, prices on average were up by 10.4%.

The number of second-hand homes available to buy nationwide on June 1 stood at just over 11,350, down 18% year-on-year and less than half the 2015-2019 average of almost 25,000.

Since the start of the year, there have been consistently fewer than 12,000 second-hand homes available to buy.

"The tightness in availability has put upward pressure on housing prices. As the figures show, inflation had peaked in late 2021, as that glut of savings found its way into the housing market. Inflation cooled from 13% in mid-2021 to just 2.6% in mid-2023. As of mid-2024, however, it is back to 6.7%. Where it goes next will depend on how fast second-hand supply recovers," said Trinity College economist Ronan Lyons.

He added: "Over the past twenty years, a clear pattern has emerged in both sale and rental markets: when availability is tight, prices are pushed upwards. Availability in the sales market has been consistently tight since the start of the year and thus it is not surprising that prices nationally recorded their largest three-month increase since 2020. In part, tight availability of second-hand homes reflects the impact of significant interest rate increases. As rates come down again, and in particular as sitting homeowners come off fixed-rate mortgages, supply should improve. This, however, is likely to take time and thus tight conditions may continue for some time."