HOUSE prices have shot up by 35 per cent since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, bombshell new housing reports reveal.
And the cost of an average family home in the capital is climbing by €1,000 a week — making it harder than ever to get on the property ladder.
A series of reports from property sellers today shine a light on the Government’s failure to get a hold of the housing crisis, with prices spiralling out of control and fewer homes available for buyers.
Daft.ie’s first quarterly report for 2025 shows house prices are up 11.6 per cent over the past 12 months.
It’s the second highest annual hike in the past decade — behind only 2017 when they rose 11.7 per cent.
Prices have soared an incredible 35 per cent since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, three months before Fianna Fail and Fine Gael linked up to form their first coalition government.
And in the first three months of this year alone, they have climbed 3.7 per cent.
This is despite Government chiefs repeatedly claiming Ireland had “turned a corner” on the housing crisis in the run up to the general election in November 2024.
The shortage of homes is the main driver of these huge increases — with the Daft report showing the fewest number of second-hand gaffs on the market since 2007.
As of March 1, there were only 9,300 listed for sale across the country — 17 per cent lower than the same point last year.
Trinity College economist Ronan Lyons, who wrote the report, warned that skyrocketing house prices show no sign of slowing down unless more homes are built.
He explained: “The underlying issue remains the housing deficit.
‘TOO FEW HOMES’
“The mortgage market rules were introduced a decade ago to prevent a repeat of the loose lending that drove Ireland’s Celtic Tiger bubble and crash. Nonetheless, prices are up 75 per cent since then, not because of too much credit but because of too few homes.”
The average price of a home is increasing at different rates across the country, with Dublin still the most expensive area at €460,726 — up 12.2 per cent on last year.
Limerick City has seen the highest annual increase at 13.8 per cent, with a pad in the Treaty City now costing €300,253.
Galway city’s average house price is €409,482, Cork is €358,676 and Waterford is €260,657.
The average price of a home is increasing at different rates across the country[/caption]
A separate report from the Real Estate Alliance has even more bad news for buyers — revealing the price of a family home in Dublin is climbing almost €1,000 per week.
It found the average price that a three-bed semi-d in the capital is now selling for €558,250, up almost €50,000 in the past year alone.
And it found the pads are so in demand they are being snapped up within days of going on sale.
REA spokesman Seamus McCarthy said: “There is a marked change in the Dublin market, with buyers looking at homes in the suburbs, while city centre property is proving less attractive. Both owner-occupiers and investors are turning their attentions away from city centre apartment living.”
‘DANGEROUS REGRESSION’
It comes as the Housing Minister clashed with the Central Bank’s Governor over plans to encourage banks to ease their lending rules for developers in a bid to pump more money into housing projects.
The Labour Party have blasted Minister James Browne’s plan as a “dangerous regression to Celtic Tiger failures”.
And Governor Gabriel Makhlouf insisted banks have enough money to lend to builders already.
Instead, the top money man urged the Government to examine all the supports for housing they have in place already before adding new ones.
‘RISK APPETITE’
Mr Makhlouf said: “My very strong advice to the Government is that there are many interventions they have already made and are making in the housing market.
“My advice would be to take stock of all of those interventions to make sure they are all mutually supportive of each other before introducing new ones.
“We think that the banks are well capitalised and that they have the capacity to lend more. It is their commercial judgement at the end of the day as to whether they want to do that, depending on their own risk appetite.”
And he yesterday declared: “The number one issue on housing is not financing. The number one issue on housing is planning.
‘PLANNING IS THE PROBLEM’
“It is absolutely planning. It is not a unique situation in Ireland, but planning is the problem.”
But Minister Browne hit back and insisted cash is a problem for developers, resulting in fewer homes being built.
The Fianna Fail TD said: “Finance is a real issue for delivering housing for this country — certainly in the private sector. As a Government, we have to look at every measure possible that could be used to deliver that housing.
“The Government has stepped up to the mark. It is delivering at least €6.5billion in capital funding this year and I expect that will be exceeded. But we need a multiple of that from the private sector to deliver that housing.”
DELIVERY TARGETS
The spat comes after a Central Bank report recently predicted the Government will miss its own housing delivery targets for the next three years.
It forecasts that completions will hit 35,000 this year, followed by 40,000 in 2026, and 44,000 in 2027.
But this is far below the Government’s projected target of 41,000 homes this year, followed by 43,000 in 2026, and 48,000 in 2027.
Last year, 30,330 new homes were built in Ireland — a 6.7 per cent fall in the number in 2023.
NEW SOCIAL HOMES
Meanwhile, Minister Browne yesterday opened 40 new social homes in Forthview, Co Wexford.
Co-Operative Housing Ireland, an approved housing body who provide affordable rented pads to low-income households, was part of the team that built the development.
Boss Gerry McDonogh said extra funding is needed from the Government to deliver more social housing.
He said: “As it stands, 10,000 new social homes are to be provided in 2025, half of which will be by approved housing bodies.
“The Programme for Government and future targets should see this rise to an average of 12,000-20,000, year-on-year, to 2030.”
Minister Browne pledged: “I want to see many more projects
like this. The Government, through an unprecedented level of State investment, is now delivering more social and affordable homes than we have in a generation and aims to provide even more.”
