The latest Daft.ie House Price Report reveals that housing prices across Ireland rose by an average of 3.7% in the first quarter of 2025. The national average listed price reached €346,048, reflecting an 11.6% increase compared to the previous year and a 35% rise since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This rate of inflation is the second-highest recorded in the decade since the implementation of mortgage market regulations, surpassed only by early 2017 when prices surged by 11.7% year-on-year.
Dublin and the rest of Leinster are driving this inflationary trend. Dublin’s housing prices have risen by 12.2%, marking the steepest increase in eight years. In the rest of Leinster, prices have surged by 13.4%, the highest rate since early 2017. Similar trends are evident in Galway (13.2%) and Limerick (13.8%), where price inflation surpasses the national average. Meanwhile, Waterford (11.2%) and Cork (9.2%) have experienced comparatively slower growth.
The sharp rise in prices coincides with a severe shortage of supply. As of March 1st, fewer than 9,300 second-hand homes were available for purchase nationwide, representing a 17% year-on-year decline and the lowest total since records began in January 2007. Notably, the first three months of 2025 are the only period since 2007 where the number of available second-hand homes fell below 10,000.
Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin, noted, “Housing prices are now increasing at a faster rate than nearly any other time since mortgage market regulations were introduced a decade ago. The primary driver is the shortage of second-hand homes. Despite a rise in new-build transactions, the second-hand market remains historically tight.”
Lyons also highlighted that the recent surge in inflation is partly linked to rising interest rates, which prompted many homeowners to lock in fixed rates for extended periods, reducing liquidity in the second-hand market. However, the underlying issue remains the persistent housing deficit. While mortgage market rules were introduced to prevent a recurrence of the Celtic Tiger bubble and crash, housing prices have nonetheless risen by 75% since then–not due to excessive credit but because of an insufficient housing supply.
Average List Price and Year-on-Year Change – Major Cities, Q1 2025
- Dublin: €460,726, up 12.2%
- Cork City: €358,676, up 9.2%
- Limerick City: €300,253, up 13.8%
- Galway City: €409,482, up 13.2%
- Waterford City: €260,657, up 11.2%
- Rest of the Country: €296,346, up 11.2%