Second-hand home price growth moderates to 5.7% in 2022

The average value of second-hand homes in Ireland increased by 5.7 per cent in 2022, according to data from Sherry FitzGerald. This, it says, was a notable slowdown on the growth of 9.6 per cent recorded in 2021 when the market was bouncing back from the effects of Covid-19 restrictions.

However, the estate agent expressed concern at a 43 per cent slump in the number of planning permissions granted in the third quarter, describing the drop on the same period in 2021 as a “worrying trend”. It also noted that commencements of new builds had also slowed, with the latest data from October showing residential housing starts are down 31 per cent on 2021.

The State’s largest estate agent also said the “exodus” of landlords from the rental market “continued unabated” in the year, with just 13 per cent of purchases made by investors. By comparison, 36 per cent of all sales were investors selling their properties, “signalling a huge disparity between those entering and exiting the market”.

The company’s year-end residential property report said the rental sector “remains crippled by historically low supply, with enduring high levels of rental inflation”.