The price of the average second-hand three-bed semi in County Westmeath has risen by two percent to €260,000 in the last three months, according to a national survey by Real Estate Alliance.
And the survey has shown that 30% of sales in the county are to first-time buyers, with 30% of all purchasers coming from outside the area.
Across the county, the average time taken to sell is four weeks, the Q2 REA Average House Price Index has shown.
“We are seeing increasing prices as a result of a shortage of supply,” Donna Hynes of REA Hynes, said.
The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland’s typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an accurate picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.
A marked increase in private landlords selling their properties nationally has increased supply levels and tempered price rises in some areas.
Up to 30% of houses for sale in some areas of Dublin are now due to landlords selling their additional properties, with knock-on effects for the rental market, the survey has found.
Actual selling prices in Dublin postcode districts have risen by 2.5% in the past three months, to an average of €493,333 – but the annual rate of increase has dropped two percentage points to eight percent on the previous survey.
The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country rose by 2.9% over the past three months to €286,611 – representing an annual increase of 13%.
58% of all purchasers in the past quarter were first-time buyers according to REA, a figure which rose to 78% in Dublin as people with mortgage approval scramble to get on the housing ladder.
The highest segment increase in Q2 was in cities outside the capital, which saw a 3.3% rise to an average selling price of €298,750.
Commuter counties saw prices increase by 2.3% – a jump of €6,833 to €311,833.
In the rest of the country, where prices rose 3.2% to €202,897, the survey found that one in every three buyers were from outside the county, with 50% first-time purchasers, as new working conditions enable a rethink on home bases.
