Leitrim House Price Survey 2022

The price of the average second-hand three-bed semi in County Leitrim has risen by 3.8% to €149,500 in the last three months, according to a national survey by Real Estate Alliance.

And the survey has shown that 44% of sales in the county are to first-time buyers, with 58% of all purchasers coming from outside the area.

Across the county, the average time taken to sell is three weeks, the Q1 REA Average House Price Index has shown.

Prices in Carrick-on-Shannon rose by €6,000 to €184,000, an increase of 3.4%, with 38% of sales to first-time buyers and 65% of buyers from outside the county.

“The percentage of first time buyers remains strong, and buyers from outside the area are a very significant factor,” said Joe Brady of REA Brady, Carrick-on-Shannon.

“Of the 65% reported, only a quarter of that number have connections to the area.

“The prevailing house prices in this region relative to prices in other parts of Ireland is a significant  contributing factor.”

In Carrigallen, prices rose by €5,000 to €115,000 this quarter, an increase of 4.6%, with first-time buyers accounting for 50% of sales, and buyers from outside the country also making up 50% of overall buyers.

“We are seeing a very limited supply and we are relying on private instructions in an already limited market,” said James Spring of REA Peter Donohoe, Carrigallen.

“The demand is still high, with an even split between owner occupiers and investors.”

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.

Nationally, house prices are increasing at an average of almost €100 a day as the market shows no signs of slowing up in the early months of 2022, the survey has found.

Average house prices rose by 3.16% nationally in the first three months of year, matching the 1% a month increases experienced during the Celtic Tiger days.

And illustrating the two-tier nature of the market, 59% of all purchasers were first-time buyers, that figure rising to 76% in Dublin as people with mortgage approval scramble to get on the housing ladder.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country rose by almost €9,000 over the past three months to €278,500 – representing an annual increase of over 14%.

The average three bed in Dublin is fast approaching the €500,000 mark, with actual selling prices rising by 2.2% since the new year, to an average of €481,250.

Commuter counties saw prices increase 4.47% – a jump of €13,000 to €305,000 – and double the rate of increase seen in the capital.

In the rest of the country, where prices rose 3.4% to €196,569, the survey found that one in every three buyers were from outside the county as new working conditions enable a rethink on home bases.