Wexford, Waterford and Kerry experienced the sharpest acceleration in house prices over the past 12 months, with average prices rising by 20-21 per cent , according to property website Daft's latest report.
This was significantly above the average increase nationally (13 per cent) and more than twice the increase recorded for Dublin (8.4 per cent).
The official rate of annual house price growth – as recorded by the Central Statistics Office, which bases its calculation on stamp duty data filed with Revenue – was put at 4.5 per cent in April.
That put house prices nationally 14.3 per cent lower than their highest level in 2007, while Dublin property prices are 19.6 per cent lower than their February 2007 peak.
The rise in prices in these coastal counties reflects the pick-up in purchases of holiday homes by people who have been restricted from holidaying abroad, the report's author economist Ronan Lyons said.
People who are considering commuting longer distances and/or remote working may also be opting to live in these areas, he said.
Mr Lyons noted there had been a significant rise in the purchase of homes in the Co Wexford resorts of Rosslare and Kilmore Quay since the pandemic.
The average asking prices for a properties in Wexford, Waterford and Kerry in the second quarter was €240,772, €266,506 and €229,490 respectively.
Daft's report breaks the State's housing market into 54 micro-markets – Dublin's 25 postal areas; the State's other four cities – Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Cork – and the remaining counties.
While prices nationally rose by 13 per cent in the 12 months to the second quarter, there were big regional differences.
In Dublin prices rose 8.4 per cent higher, while in Cork, Limerick and Waterford listed prices were 14.3-15.5 per cent higher. In Galway city prices rose 12.6 per cent in the same period.
Longford and Roscommon recorded some of the highest rates of annual inflation with 20.7 per cent and 20.4 per cent respectively, followed by Limerick (19.5 per cent), Tipperary (18.9 per cent), Offaly (17.9 per cent) and Mayo (17.5 per cent).
However, the average asking prices in some of these counties were among the lowest in the State. In Longford the average asking price in the second quarter of this year was €162, 128. This compares to €284,000 nationally and €624,000 in south Co Dublin.
Leitrim was the county with the lowest average asking price of €145,977. Prices in the county were up 16.7 per cent year on year.
Housing need
"So while construction remains woefully inadequate compared to the true level of housing need in Ireland – likely as high as 50,000 new homes across all tenures and types – it can't explain the spike in prices over the last year," Mr Lyons said.
“Instead it is the second-hand market that is driving the falloff in supply. Between 2015 and 2019, the typical month in Ireland saw just under 5,000 homes listed for sale, the vast majority of those second-hand.”
He added: “The typical year has two peaks in listings – one in May, when about 6,500 homes are put up for sale, and the other in September when 6,100 come on to the market. January, November and in particular December are the quietest months, with just 2,400 homes on the market in December.”
