Grim outlook for buyers as Daft.ie figures show homes becoming still dearer
Westmeath saw some of the steepest rises in house prices recorded in the country during 2024, figures released today by the property website Daft.ie have revealed.
Nationally, the average listed price of a home in the final quarter of 2024 was 9 per cent higher than a year previously - but in Westmeath, that figure was actually 14 per cent higher than a year previously.
The type of house that saw the greatest hike in prices in Westmeath was that of the two-bed terraced home, which now costs an average of €159,000 - a 16 per cent increase over the 2023 figure. No other type of house anywhere in the country surpassed this level of price inflation.
Three-bed semi-detached homes in Westmeath increased in price by 13.5 per cent in the past year to take the average cost to €210,000 while in terms of four-bed bungalows, Westmeath came top of the table in Leinster, with an 8.2 per cent price hike having driven the average cost to €403,000.
The across-the-board average house/apartment price in Westmeath now stands at €291,667. The Offaly average stands at €266,493; Longford buyers need an average of €205,008 and in Meath, buyers need €345,926.
Daft.ie reports that on December 1, there were just under 2,500 second-hand homes for sale in Leinster, down 21 per cent on the same date a year ago, and less than half of the 2016-2019 average.
The site also reports that there were a little over 18,000 transactions in Leinster (outside Dublin) in the year to September 2024, down 4 per cent on the same period a year before.
It also reveals that in the third quarter of 2024, the typical transaction price was 6 per cent over the listed price. By contrast, a year ago the nationally had been 3.2 percent, while two years ago, in Q4 2022, the typical transation price was 3 per cent above the listed prices.
"The fourth quarter of 2024 saw the highest level of market heat - as measured by the premium paid by buyers above the listed price - than at any other time since the start of 2010," the commentary provided by Daft.ie states.