Residential Property Price Index July 2016

2.1    National price index

2.2     National house and apartment price trends

House prices increased 6.8% in the twelve months to July 2016. Apartment prices increased 7.4% over the same period.

Overall house prices in July 2016 are 32.8% lower than their high point in 2007, with apartments 43.0% lower than at their peak.

House prices climbed 2.7% in the month of July and are 44.0% higher than the market low point in early 2013. The price of apartments nationally increased 0.3% in July and is 60.4% higher than the trough in June 2012.

Apartment prices responded more rapidly to changing market conditions than house prices over the past ten years. Apartment prices fell more rapidly than house prices in 2009 and 2012 and recovered more rapidly between late 2014 and early 2015 (see Figure 2.2).

2.3    Volume of sales no longer increasing; growth in market value slowing

After 2011, the annual volume of transactions began to increase from its lowest point. A total of 36,785 filings were recorded for household market purchases in the 12 months to July 2016, compared with 14,745 in the 12 months to July 2011. After significant growth in volume of house purchases in the years to July 2013, 2014 and 2015 (34.1%, 28.3% and 35.1% respectively), the 12 months to July 2016 saw a decrease of 1.7% in the total number of purchases (see Figure 2.3). 

2.4    Apartments are making up more of the market

From 2013 onwards, apartments have increased their share of the household residential property market. In 2012 apartments accounted for 10.7% of the market in terms of transaction volume and 8.6% of the market in terms of transaction value, according to stamp duty returns filed that year. By 2015, the market share of apartments had increased to 15.6% by volume and 13.7% by value. In the first seven months of 2016 the share by volume remained at 15.6% and decreased slightly to 13.4% by value (see Figure 2.4).

2.5     First-time buyers losing market share but paying more

First-time buyer owner-occupiers formed a decreasing proportion of the market over the period 2010 to 2015. In 2010, they represented 53.1% of all household market transactions filed. By 2015, first-time buyers' share fell to just 24.4% of the market. In the first seven months of 2016, first-time buyers accounted for 24.6% of household market purchases. The corresponding proportions for the value of the first-time buyer market were 48.1%, 22.5% and 23.0% respectively (see Figure 2.5).

2.6    New dwelling sales a fraction of the market

The residential property market remains dominated by sales of existing dwellings. New dwelling purchases make up only a very small number of dwelling transactions. In 2011 a record low of just 1,293 stamp duty returns were filed with the Revenue Commissioners for new dwellings.  In the same year, 13,748 stamp duty returns were filed for existing dwellings.

By 2015, the number of new dwellings returns filed had increased to 2,489. However, these were still dwarfed by the figure of 35,580 existing dwelling returns filed. The market share of new dwellings purchased almost halved from 2010 to 2015, going from 12.8% to 6.5% over the period. In the first seven months of 2016, 1,464 new dwelling returns were filed, compared to 18,670 existing dwelling returns (see Table 2.2).

2.7     Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown most expensive administrative area

According to stamp duty filings, the most expensive place nationwide to buy a house is the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown administrative area of Co. Dublin. In 2015 households paid an average of €568,980 to buy a house in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Second and third most expensive in 2015 were the Dublin City and Fingal administrative areas, where the average house price was €389,022 and €336,310 respectively. Conversely, the least expensive place to buy a house in 2015 was Co. Longford, where the average price paid was just €79,660. The second and third least expensive places were Co. Roscommon and Co. Leitrim, with average prices of €94,105 and €94,572 respectively (see Figure 2.8). The national average house price in 2015 was €225,783.