Property prices surge for 20th month in a row piling pressure on new buyers
It was the 20th month in a row of rising home values.
Prices were up by 7.5pc in the year to April, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
This was compared with a rise of 7.6pc in the year to March.
Property prices in Dublin rose by 6.2pc, and prices outside Dublin were up by 8.6pc compared with April last year.
The median price of home bought in the period across the State was €365,000.
The highest median price for a dwelling was €670,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, while the lowest median price was €185,000 in Leitrim.
The most expensive Eircode area over the 12 months to April was A94 in Blackrock, Dublin, with a median price of €750,000.
Castlerea, in Co Roscommon, had the least expensive price of €148,000.
In April, 3,748 dwelling purchases by households were filed with the Revenue Commissioners at a total value of €1.6bn.
These purchases were made up of 2,908 existing dwellings and 840 new dwellings.
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Revenue data shows there were 1,458 first-time buyer purchases in April 2025.
In the year to April, 49,352 homes were bought by households at market prices were filed with Revenue.
Of these, 18,146 were purchased by first time buyer owner-occupiers. This works out at 37pc of the purchases.
Former owner-occupiers purchased 25,907 homes, or 52.5pc of the total.
The balance of 5,299 (10.7pc) were acquired by non-occupiers, such as State-supported housing charities and funds.
The latest price rises are in the wake of the Central Bank again reducing its forecast of how many houses will be built this year, saying it now expects 32,500 – just 2,000 more than last year.
It is the second time this year that the bank has reduced its housing forecast. In March, it lowered the prediction to 35,000 from 37,000.
The latest development will heap further pressure on the Government, which has set itself a target of delivering 41,000 homes this year, which now seems unattainable.
Even that target is less than what most housing experts say is needed to meet demand and clear the backlog – about 52,000 units a year.
The slow delivery of new homes comes at a time when demand for housing continues to surge.
Close to one in five consumers in this country are looking to rent or buy, the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland said, quoting European Central Bank statistics.
Demand for housing in this country is now the second highest in Europe, after the Netherlands.
The banking lobby group said 17pc consumers in Ireland, or almost one in five, report that they were looking to rent or buy.
This is according to the February 2025 ECB Consumer Expectations Survey.
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