
Irish house price inflation at 7.5% in April as supply shortages bite
House prices
in Ireland grew at an average annual rate of 7.5 per cent in April, amid ongoing supply shortages and surging demand fuelled by Government incentives and expectations of further interest rate cuts.
The headline rate of house price inflation was essentially unchanged from March's 7.6 per cent and down from 8 per cent in February, the
Central Statistics Office
(CSO) said on Thursday.
The annual rate of price growth in Dublin, where supply shortages are most acute, accelerated slightly from 6 per cent in March to 6.2 per cent in April.
Outside Dublin, house prices were up 8.6 per cent in the 12 months to the end of April, the CSO said, essentially unchanged from March.
READ MORE
More to follow ...
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Irish Sun
12 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Not realistic for this year', Housing Minister says as Government unlikely to meet target of 41,000 new homes
THE target of building 41,000 new homes this year is 'not realistic', Housing Minister James Browne has admitted. He conceded meeting the aim would be 'extremely challenging' — with around 2 James Browne stated it is unlikely'the target for new builds this year will be met But Minister Browne insisted he was committed to enacting a 'step change' in the Housing Department and will clear 'the dead wood out of the way so that homes can get delivered'. Quizzed on this year's target, he told Newstalk: 'I think the challenge we have this year is we're coming off a much lower base from last year than was expected. 'We had hoped for much higher figures last year. I think, looking at all of the different predictions, which are fairly consistent, I think 41,000 is not realistic for this year.' He added: 'My position as Minister is to maximise supply, maximise the delivery of new READ MORE ON HOUSING CRISIS 'Because we need to get from 30,000 onto 50,000, onto 60,000 houses — 40,000 houses is nowhere near enough.' The Meanwhile, total investment of €122billion is needed by 2030 if This includes €16.4billion this year, rising to €24.1billion by 2030 to hit 60,000 gaffs a year. Most read in Money Earlier this week, it emerged that the Minister Martin Heydon brought forward the first report from the Government's Timber in Construction Steering Group which calls on the State to use wood more when Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald slams Government over housing crisis Forestry Minister Micheal Healy-Rae has worked with the steering group on the report which notes that Ireland has excellent forest resources that are being underused in our construction sector. The steering group believes that our forests have the capacity to supply the timber needed to build 'INDIGENOUS RESOURCE' A new 'Wood first' procurement policy will be launched on the back of the report which will see State bodies ensure that timber is the "material of choice" in the construction of public buildings including schools, libraries and housing. Forestry Minister Micheal Healy-Rae told the Irish Sun: 'If we are trying to build twenty or thirty or sixty thousand houses – every one of those will need a roof and the most environmentally friendly way you can build a roof is not with steel or anything else – it is wood. 'Again with all the partitions in houses you have people who will want to use steel fixing or concrete but at the end of the day I am encouraging people to use wood instead. 'Timber framed houses made in a factory were very big during the Boomy Boom and people will tell you to use others instead like concrete but I think we should be promoting timber. 'We can grow it ourselves. It's our own indigenous resource. It is renewable. 'You plant it and it grows here, you cut it down and use it and you plant it again and it creates work locally.' 2 The new prediction estimates that 32,500 houses will be built by the end of 2025 Credit: � 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved


Irish Times
12 minutes ago
- Irish Times
‘A load of bull' that Sinn Féin is on the side of working people, Tánaiste says
Tánaiste Simon Harris has defended the Government's rent pressure zone (RPZ) reforms in the wake of the Central Bank's finding they will be 'painful' for renters and rounded on Sinn Féin as the 'wealthiest party' and property owner in the Dáil. He claimed it was a 'load of bull' that they were on the side of 'working people'. He also reiterated his comments that the Government will be taking specific measures to support students and that 'we have their backs' as Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane accused the Government of 'spin and bluster'. Responding to Mr Cullinane, Mr Harris hit out at Sinn Féin as the 'biggest property owners in Dáil, the biggest property investors' with 40 to 50 properties, including seven in Belfast. READ MORE 'So don't give me this 'oh we're on the side of the working people'. This is a load of bull that people see right through,' Mr Harris said. Mr Cullinane, quoting the Central Bank, said the Government measures 'will hurt students and their families', would affect young people and their ability to save for their own homes and 'this will hurt ordinary working people'. He said rent controls will not apply to new builds and will not apply to existing homes after a renter moves out voluntarily. They would also not apply to off-campus student accommodation , Mr Cullinane said. The Waterford TD said the reforms 'will hurt tens of thousands of people' and 'there is absolutely no guarantee that these changes will increase supply'. He asked 'when are you going to stop punishing renters?' and called on the Tánaiste to accept that 'students will be one of the first to be affected'. [ Will rent reform hitting holiday lets irk Coalition's own Ministers? Opens in new window ] Government housing policy 'has always been about investors and giving vulture and cuckoo funds free rein to squeeze rents out of hardworking people', Mr Cullinane said. Mr Harris said Mr Cullinane was only quoting parts of what the Central Bank said. The bank 'also said that our rent pressure zone reforms will have a positive effect on supply', Mr Harris said. 'They themselves acknowledge that housing projections are subject to uncertainty, but they've said this morning that it's not impossible to reach the target,' the Tánaiste added. 'There's a number of steps that need to be taken and many of the steps that they've outlined are areas where the Government has a priority focus on.' He said an additional 11 counties would be included in the RPZs and protected. Mr Harris also insisted the Government 'will be taking specific measures to support students'. 'Do not worry because we have their back,' he said, adding that the Government would include additional measures in the budget to protect students. He added that Sinn Féin planned to abolish RPZs and was in favour of reference rents which he said were unworkable. Mr Harris also rejected claims by Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín that the Government was underestimating the homeless population by almost 1,000 based on figures the party got through freedom of information requests to local councils. Mr Tóibín said the local authorities listed 16,472 people as homeless while the official figures are 15,580, some 892 fewer people. The Tánaiste said the monthly figures were official, impartial State statistics and not those of Government. He said in relation to figures compiled by Aontú that often those seeking housing are registered with more than one council creating duplication in the statistics. Opposition smells blood in the water over RPZ changes Listen | 35:51


Irish Times
42 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Castletown House campaigners being sued by companies in row over gates and fencing ‘blocking' key access route
Companies being sued by a community group over new gates allegedly blocking public access to a period house and its estate are now suing the organisation. Last month Save Castletown Committee CLG brought a High Court action over gates and connected fencing erected by the owners of a 235-acre parcel of land within the historic demesne of Castletown House in Celbridge, Co Kildare. Campaigners say the gates and fencing are blocking public vehicular access to the house and grounds via a road known as Gay's Avenue. Celio Properties Ltd, Kilross Properties Ltd, Liffey Bridge Homes Ltd and Springwood Properties Ltd acquired the parcel of land in April 2023. READ MORE The rest of the estate – including the lands where the 18th century house is situated – is owned by the Office of Public Works. Late last month the companies brought separate High Court proceedings against Save Castletown Committee and two of its directors, Fintan Monaghan and Treasa Keegan. The companies have taken the proceedings against Mr Monaghan and Ms Keegan personally and in their capacities as representatives of the committee, court documents have stated. In its proceedings, Save Castletown Committee is seeking an order requiring the companies to remove the gates and fencing. The committee, with an address at Woodview, Castletown, Celbridge, says the gates and fencing are an development, as planning permission was not obtained. But in the companies' proceedings, they argue the committee has 'wrongfully asserted' that their lands are subject to a public right of way and a public right of access. The companies, with registered addresses at Millennium Park, Naas, Co Kildare, and Turnings, Straffan, Co Kildare, are seeking orders restraining the defendants from making a claim of public right of way in respect of their lands within the Castletown House demesne. The defendants say that establishing this public right of way is necessary to their argument in the unauthorised development proceedings. Both sets of proceedings return to court next week. In a sworn statement filed in the unauthorised development proceedings, Mr Monaghan said the public had previously 'enjoyed habitual access' to Castletown House via Gay's Avenue. This access has been blocked by the newly erected gates, he said. He said that the ongoing blocking of access to Castletown House at Gay's Avenue was having a 'severe impact' on the local community. Mr Monaghan said his group's purpose was to promote public access to the Castletown House estate and the reunification of the historic demesne lands. '[Save Castletown House] believes that Castletown lands are of vital historical, cultural and ecological significance for the community of Celbridge and Leixlip, and therefore considers that they should be in state ownership for the use and benefit of the people of the area and for the State as a whole,' he said.