Offaly house prices 22% below Celtic Tiger peak

The average price of a new house in Offaly now stands at €243,417, which is 22% below its Celtic Tiger peak, according to the latest figures from Ireland's largest property website, Daft.ie.

Nationally, house prices continue to rise as availability falls, although would-be home owners across the county can take some comfort from the fact that house prices during 2023 rose by an average of 3.4%, which is the smallest increase since 2019.

The number of homes available to buy nationwide on December 1 stood at just over 11,100. This is down 27% year-on-year and is the lowest since March 2022. It is also less than half the 2019 average of 24,200. The fall in availability, which started in the middle of the year, can be seen in all major regions of the country, although it’s proportionately largest in Dublin (down 33% year-on-year).

Commenting on the latest house price trends, the author of the Daft.ie report, Trinity College economist, Ronan Lyons, said the number of homes on the property market is now at levels “only previously seen during the pandemic” but added that the construction of new homes has “improved dramatically” over the past five years and looks set to continue.

“If uncertainty continues to fade, and potentially interest rates start to fall again, it may be the case that 2024 sees the second-hand market recover. This would likely mean a healthier housing market than for some time, with transactions up but prices largely stable” said Mr. Lyons.

The latest quarterly report from Daft.ie (for the final three months of 2023) shows that there were fewer than 3,000 homes on the market across the 11 counties of Leinster (excluding Dublin) on December 1 last, down 26% year-on-year and the lowest total since mid-2022.

The report also revealed a 3% increase in the number of transactions across Leinster (excluding Dublin) in the first nine months of 2023 compared to the same period the previous year.