Cork county house prices jump by 10.9% in a year

THE average asking price for a three-bed semi in County Cork has continued on an upward curve over the first three months of the year according to the latest set of figures from the Real Estate Alliance.

Issued on a quarterly basis, the REA’s house-price survey focusses on the sales of Ireland’s typical stock home, giving a regular up-to-date picture of the second-hand property market across the country.

According to the latest survey, prices in Cork County increased by 1.4 per cent between January and March of this year, with the average price as the period drew to a close standing at €168,500.

This represented a 10.9 per cent increase on the same period on 2018, when the average asking price in the county stood at €152,000.

The quarterly increase seems to be in line with a prediction made by the REA in January, which said that they expected to see houses prices in the county increase by 3.5 per cent over the course of 2019.

Sarah O’Keeffe of O’Keeffe REA Charleville said this is being driven by the lack of houses coming onto the market.

“We are experiencing a significant shortage of supply,” Ms O’Keeffe said. “This is driving increased competition for new properties on the market, which we anticipate will appreciate prices further.”

She said the average three-bed semi in her coverage area was currently priced at €139,000 and spent six weeks on the market before reaching the ‘sale agreed’ stage.

By comparison, house prices in Cork city remained static over the first quarter of the year, with just a 0.8 per cent increase on the same period in 2018.

With the average house price increased by just €2,500 to €317,5000.

Nationally, the survey found that the average semi-detached house now costs €235,898 a drop of 0.16 per cent on the figure for the final quarter of 2018 of €236,287.