Cork house prices up nearly 50% in 4 years

REPORT SHOWS AVERAGE PRICE OF A HOUSE IN CORK NOW ALMOST €210K

FIGURES contained within the latest Daft. ie House Price Report for the third quarter of this year have revealed the average price of a house in Cork has risen by almost 50% since its lowest point in 2013.

Widely regarded as a key barometer of the Irish housing market, the Daft.ie series analyses trends within the sector with the latest report offering a comprehensive overview of activity between July to the end of September.

It showed that the growth trends observed across Cork County since the start of the year has continued – albeit at a somewhat slower pace than the previous quarter – with the average house price in the county standing at €209,596 at the end of September.

At the end of quarter one the average house price stood at €196,175, a 9.2% increase on the same period in 2016. Over the second quarter house prices in Cork rose by 5.4% (an year-onyear increase of 11.4%) to €206,686.

The latest report has shown a slowdown in the rate of increase in house prices across Cork, which is authors said was a reflection of the easing in inflation across the entire Munster region.

It has shown an increase in Cork of 1.8% over quarter three, with the average house price in the county standing at €209,596 at the end of September - up 8.8% on the same period in 2016.

Broken down, the report showed the average asking price for a single-bed apartment in Cork County now stands at €75,000, an increase of 12% on the same time last year. The price of a two-bed terraced house had risen by 15.3% to €98,000, a three-bed semi by 14.6% to €146,000, a four-bed bungalow by 13.9% to €277,000 and a five-bed detached by 11.6% to €302,000.

The report also showed that the average asking price for a house in Cork County had increased by 46.4% from its 2013 ‘ trough’.

In Cork City the average house price at the end of September stood at €260,181, a 5.1% annual increase and a staggering 58.5% increase from the aforementioned trough.

However, the annual rate of increase in Cork City was slower than across the rest of Munster, where house prices increase by an average of 8% over the year to the end of last month.

While all counties in the province have experienced increases over the 12-month period in average house asking prices, Cork still comes in as being the most expensive place to buy with Waterford the only other county to break the €200k barrier at €204,062.

Co Kerry came next on the list at €180,787 (up 5.2% on 2016), followed by Limerick at €169,869 (up 8.3%), Clare at €167,846 (up 7.9%), Tipperary at €164,204 (up 7.2%).

The report showed that while the amount of available housing stock on the market in Munster had continued to rise slightly to just shy of 8,000, it was still 8% lower than at the same time in 2016.

It showed that transaction volumes during quarter three remained “steady” at 3,200 and that just under half of properties up for sale in the province find a buyer within four months.

Unsurprisingly South County Dublin still remained the most expensive area of the country to buy, with the average asking price standing at €558,961.

Counties Leitrim (€124,435), Longford (€131,092) and Roscommon (€133,324) had the country’s lowest average house prices .

To see the full quarter three report visit www.daft.ie.