Midlands House Prices Surge Amid Continuing Lack Of Supply

Monday, 8 July 2024 06:57

Westmeath and Offaly are seeing double figure percentage increases compared to last year.

House prices are rising at their fastest level in almost two years.

The latest report from MyHome.ie shows the cost of a home in Offaly has jumped 11.5% in a year, it's up 10.6% in Westmeath, while Laois has seen a more modest rise of 5% in the last 12 months.

Nationally, the average price of a house in Ireland at €365,000, up 7% on this time last year.

And in a sign that the issues with supply and demand are continuing, houses are selling for an average of 6% above their asking price.

Chief economist at Bank of Ireland Conall MacCoille says there are a number of reasons why:

According to the report the asking prices for a 3-bed semi-detached house in Westmeath is 235,000 euro, it's 210,000 euro in Laois and 200,000 euro in Offaly.

There are 500 properties for sale in the region at the end of Q2.

The Central Bank's decision to relax tight mortgage restrictions meant first-time buyers with higher loan-to-income ratios jumped from 6 per cent to 36 per cent in the space of a year.

CEO of OnlineApplication.com, Karl Deeter says rising rent prices is driving more people to take out larger loans: