4% rise in local house prices

HOUSE prices in Louth are continuing their upward trend with a 4% rise in the average cost of a three bedroom home in the county, it has been revealed.

The price of a three bedroom semi-detached house in Louth now stands at €195,000 according to the latest national survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.

Prices in Drogheda have seen a 2.4% increase which means the average three-bed semi in the Boyneside town will now cost €215,000, up from €203,000 last June while in Dundalk prices have risen 6.1% this quarter, and 16.7% annually, to €175,000.

The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland’s typical stock home, the three-bed semi, in Quarter Two this year, giving an up-to-date picture of the property market in towns and cities countrywide.

‘ There is strong demand particularly from first-time buyers and new three-bed semis are selling from €250,000 in the greater Drogheda area,’ said Darina Collins, REA O’Brien Collins, Drogheda.

The average semi-detached house nationally now costs €215,269, the Q2 REA Average House Price Survey has found.

Overall, the average house price across the country has risen by 11.2% over the past 12 months – in contrast to the 4.5% increase registered to the full year to June 2016. ‘ Agents have been reporting that where there are new homes available, the price of second-hand properties has been under pressure,’ said REA spokesperson Healy Hynes.

While new building is still in its infancy, new developments on sale in small pockets of the country have had an impact on the price and demand for second-hand properties locally.