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LATEST CSO REPORT SHOWS FURTHER RISE IN HOUSE PRICES
By Ruth Baily
Residential property prices continued their upward trend for the year to the end of May. The details are contained in the latest report released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Nationally prices have risen by 10.6% which is a further increase on the 8.5% rise for the year to the end of April.
During the month of May, residential property prices rose by 2.3% which compares with 1.4% in the month of April. Prices for May 2013 only saw an increase of 0.3%.
The Dublin housing market rose by 22% when compared with May 2013, with a monthly increase of 4.2%. When broken down further, house prices were up 22.4% with apartment prices up 19.5% above the 2013 figures. However it should be noted that the overall transaction numbers are low in the apartment sector and therefore more subject to volatility.
Outside of Dublin the picture is not as positive. Residential properties rose by 0.6% in May and are 1.8% higher year on year.
As the CIF has previously stated, these price rises are being driven by the supply shortage, particularly in urban areas such as Dublin. Prices will continue to rise, until the supply levels start meeting the demand in the market.
The Government and the ERSI have acknowledged that to meet current and future demand we need to build 25,000 housing units per year. Last year 8,301 units were completed with just 1,360 of those in Dublin. Until the supply shortage is tackled we can expect to see further reports like today’s from the CSO.
The full CSO report on the figures can be seen by clicking here.