Property prices outside Dublin are on the rise for the first time since the collapse of the Celtic Tiger – proof the economy is recovering according to experts.
Property website Daft.ie has reported that prices rose outside of the capital in the first three months of 2014.
This is the first quarterly rise since the Irish economy collapsed in 2007.
The website survey reports that the national average asking price is now just over $230,000, an increase of 3.5% from same time last year.
Irish state broadcaster RTE says on its website that Dublin property prices rose by 15% compared to the same period last year.
The survey also reports increases in prices for Cork and Galway city centres of two to three per cent but property prices in Waterford and Limerick city are down on the same period.
New figures from another website, MyHome.ie, say asking prices in Dublin increased by 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2014.
RTE’s report says this is the fourth consecutive quarter that price increases have been recorded in Dublin with the average asking price in the capital at $335,000.
However the MyHome.ie site says nationally, average asking prices continue to fall, down 0.7 per cent in the first quarter, which is the lowest rate of decline in over six years. The average asking price nationwide is $250,000.
Ronan Lyons, author of the Daft report, told RTE that the increase in property prices outside Dublin is significant for those in negative equity.
Assistant Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin, Lyons said the survey showed a rise in the average asking price of properties outside Dublin of 2 per cent between January and March this year.
He said: “The average is still down but this is the first time that prices outside the capital have risen quarter on quarter since mid-2007.
“The increase in house prices in Dublin, although a cause for concern, is not anything close to 2006 - 2007 prices.
“There are two things to worry about in relation to the 15 per cent increase in prices in Dublin year on year. A lack of supply of properties means there is still lots of unmet demand.
“And if people start expecting price increases of 10 per cent to 15 per cent year on year, then there is a danger of entering bubble territory again.
“The Financial Regulator could put in place a minimum deposit required, to make sure that expectations do not get out of line.”
MyHome.ie Managing Director Angela Keegan told RTE that although the Property Price Register was showing increased momentum in the market it was likely that national price trends are being influenced by urban markets such as Cork and Galway and counties in the Greater Dublin area.
She said: “The trends identified in new instructions and recent transactions are most welcome.
“However the road to recovery is a marathon not a sprint and the return to a properly functioning property market will only come about when we see a substantial increase in transactions, an increase in supply and low digit sustainable price growth.”
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