Rural house prices rising at twice the rate of city homes as median price now at €331,000

A report based on all the entries on the State’s property price register also shows the median price of a residential property rose by €21,000 last year.

Energy-efficient homes are now selling for almost €80,000 more than those with low energy ratings, according to data on property sales compiled by technology company Geowox.

Across the entire housing market, prices were up 6.8pc in the last four months of last year when compared with the previous year.

The median price paid for a home sold near the end of last year was €331,000. This is a rise of €21,000 compared with the same period in 2022, the Q4 2023 Geowox Housing Market Report reveals.

The median number is the middle number in the data list.

Energy-efficient homes achieved a median sales price of €390,000, which is a €79,000 premium over the sales price for non-efficient homes.

This energy-based comparison excludes new homes which have to conform to high Building Energy Ratings (BERs).

The data shows a big gap between sales prices achieved for rural homes and those in urban areas.

Prices in the countryside rose by 9.4pc last year compared with an increase of 4.3pc in more built-up areas.

Housing experts put this down to strong demand for a more limited supply of homes in rural areas from people moving out of cities to work remotely.

Marco Giardina, Geowox’s head of data, said: “Rural home prices remain on their strong upwards trajectory, while urban prices are showing moderate growth again.”

A total of 15,423 homes were sold in the last three months of last year. This is down 11.2pc compared with the same quarter in 2022.

Co Dublin had the highest number of sales in the final three months of last year at 4,606 units. Monaghan registered the lowest number, with just 120 sales.

The total number of new home sales remained stable year over year, at 3,410.

Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien gives an update on the Government's Housing for All plan

The Geowox data shows a bigger rise in existing home prices than those for new homes. This is at variance with Central Statistics Office (CSO) property price index figures.

The median cost of a new home in the Republic was €400,000, representing a 1.3pc increase, or €5,000, compared with the same period last year.

The median price for a second-hand home was €300,000 in the fourth quarter of last year, up by €20,000 in the year, or a 7pc rise.

This week, the CSO said property prices for new and existing homes across the State were up by 2.9pc in the year to last November.

In Dublin they rose by 0.9pc, with prices outside Dublin up by 4.4pc.

A chronic shortage of homes to buy, combined with demographic changes, is keeping demand for housing strong and sending prices up. The CSO found that new home prices were up by 10pc in the July to September period last year when compared with the previous year.

But prices for existing dwellings fell by 1pc over the same period.

New home price inflation is attributed to the State’s Help-to-Buy and First Home schemes incentivising the purchase of new properties.

A combination of the two schemes means buyers of new homes can get as much as €100,000 towards their purchase from the State.

Estate agents have said this is “turbo-charging” the new homes market.