Louth House Price Survey June 2021

The price of the average second-hand three-bed semi in County Louth has risen by 10.6% to €235,000 in the last three months, according to a national survey by Real Estate Alliance.

Across the county, the average time taken to sell is currently steady at three weeks, the REA Average House Price Index shows.

Drogheda saw the highest rises in the country, with average prices rosing 13.6% this quarter to €250,000, and time to sell falling from four weeks to three.

“The market has taken off since the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions on viewings,” said Darina Collins of REA O’Brien Collins, Drogheda.

“Pent-up demand means prices are rising across the board, and we are currently seeing properties making up to 16% more than at the end of 2020.

“The scarcity of supply plus availability of buyers with savings is having a big impact on the second-hand market.”

The average price in Dundalk rose 7.3% to €220,000 this quarter, with time taken to sell remaining at an average of two weeks.

“The continued lack of new property is contributing to prices rising,” said Michael Gunne of REA Gunne Property, Dundalk.

Average house prices have risen by almost €1,000 per week nationwide since the end of March, the REA Average House Price Survey has found.

The survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland's typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an accurate picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.

Fuelled by pent-up demand and the return of physical viewing, the marketplace is also seeing the lowest supply and the shortest time taken to sell in recent history.

And as multiple buyers bid for scarce supplies, the average three bed semi is now reaching sale agreed after just four weeks on the market across the country – less than half the ten-week average this time last year.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country rose by €10,000 over the past three months to €253,685 – representing an annual increase of 8%.

The biggest rises in Q2 came in commuter counties and the country’s large towns as buyers continue to move out further from the city in preparation for long-term hybrid working situations.

In Dublin city, house prices rose by €1,500 per week in Q2, increasing from €438,500 in March to a present rate of €456,667.

Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford cities shared a combined increase of 3.5% in the past 12 weeks with prices rising by €10,000 to an average of €275,000.

Three bed semis in commuter counties rose 4.33% by over €11,000 in the past three months to an average of €270,111 – with the average home selling in just three weeks, down from a high of 11 weeks a year ago.

As the flight to rural locations continues, prices in the rest of the country’s towns rose by over 4.6% in Q2 to €176,690.