Average house price in Westmeath breaches €300,000 mark

Westmeath’s average house price has now breached the €300,000 mark, and house prices in the county are now 44 per cent above the level they were at the start of the Covid 19 pandemic five years ago, the latest Daft.ie House Price Report released today, Tuesday March 25, has revealed.

To really put a perspective on the rapid rise in prices, the figures reveal that the average cost of a home in Westmeath is now €300,717, which is 13.8 per cent higher than a year ago compared to a rise of 5% seen in the 12 months to March 2024.

That means those looking to buy a home in Westmeath now need approximately €41,500 more than they would have needed a year ago.

This latest report has found that house prices nationally rose by an average of 3.7% during the first three months of 2025. The rise in Westmeath in the first three months of this year came to 3.1 per cent – which was actually lower than in the three other midland counties, Longford (6.2 per cent), Offaly (5.5 per cent) and Laois (5.5 per cent).

The average cost of a home in Westmeath, at €300,717, is the highest of the four midland counties, although the change from pre-Covid prices is even higher in those locations than in Westmeath, registering at 60.7 per cent in Longford, where average home prices come to €217,986; 56.3 per cent in Offaly, where the average home costs €282,028; and 52.2 per cent in Laois, where purchasers need to budget €270,475 for a home.

Delving deeper into the figures, Daft.ie finds that there has been a 26.2 per cent increase in Westmeath apartment prices in the first three months of the year, bringing the average to €124,000. The cost of a two-bed terraced home averages €162,000; a three-bed semi-detached home averages €212,000; a four-bed bungalow could be expected to cost €420,000 and those in the market for a five-bed detached home can expect to pay €445.

According to economist Ronan Lyons, the current rate of inflation in the market is the second-highest seen in the ten years since mortgage market rules were introduced, exceeded only by the spike in prices seen in early 2017 (11.7% year-on-year then, vs 11.6% year-on-year now).

The surge in inflation is being driven by Dublin and the rest of Leinster. Inflation in the capital is now running at 12.2%, the highest rate in eight years, while in the rest of Leinster, the annual increase in prices is 13.4%, also the highest since early 2017.

Galway (13.2%) and Limerick cities (13.8%) are also seeing rates of inflation above the national average, while the rate seen in Waterford (11.2%) and Cork cities (9.2%) is slower.

As before, the sharp increases in prices around the country are happening at a time of very tight supply. The number of second-hand homes available to buy nationwide on March 1st stood at less than 9,300. This is down 17% year-on-year and also marks the lowest total ever recorded in a series extending back to January 2007. The three months since the start of the year mark the only three months since 2007 where there have been fewer than 10,000 second-hand homes available to buy.

"This latest Daft.ie House Price Report shows that the surge in inflation is not yet over,” says Mr Lyons.

“The ultimate solution remains unchanged from that which was needed a decade ago: a lot more homes need to be built, so that the country’s housing is adequate for its households.”