Home prices soaring at fas tes t rate in three years

PROPERTY prices are rising at their fastest rate in nearly three years.

Prices jumped by 13pc in the year to February, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show.

The rise in the second month of the year was even faster than those experienced in the previous two months.

And the 1pc rise in the month was a record for what is usually a slow month in the property market.

Dublin saw prices rise by

12.7pc, but outside of the capital the pace of the rise was even faster at

13.1pc, the CSO said.

The Midland region showed the greatest growth, with house prices increasing by

14.8pc.

The south-east region showed the least price growth, with house prices increasing by 8.6pc.

Apartments prices in Dublin

rose by14.5pc in the year to February. Apartment prices in the rest of Ireland increased by

14.6pc in the same period. The average price paid for a residential property in February was €291,000, up nearly

€17,000 from the previous month.

The latest figures are at odds with recent reports from websites MyHome.ie and Daft. ie, which both recorded a slowdown in headline inflation for the first quarter of this year.

Average prices in Dublin were €432,000, with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown the most expensive, with an average price of €600,000.

The least expensive region for household purchases over the last year was the Border region, with an average price of

€130,667.

The CSO said that almost

1,000 first-time buyers purchased a property in February, based on files lodged with the Revenue Commissioners, a rise of 18pc on the same month last year.

Some 43,700 residential properties changed hands in the second month of this year.