House prices were down 0.35% during 2022

Nationwide residential property prices fell slightly by 0.35% (inflation-adjusted) in 2022 from a year earlier, in stark contrast to a year-on-year increase of 8.24% in 2021. Yet in nominal terms, house prices were still rising by 7.85% over the same period.

During the latest quarter, Irish real house prices dropped 0.37% quarter-on-quarter. 

Demand is slowing, residential construction activity surging

In 2022, the total number of market-based household purchases of residential dwellings rose by a modest 3.3% from a year earlier, a slowdown from the prior year’s strong growth of 22.3%, according to Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO). Likewise, the value of sales tractions increased by 12.8% y-o-y to €17.14 billion last year, a deceleration from a growth of 34.3% in 2021.

Despite this, new dwelling completions surged 45.2% to 29,851 units in 2022 as compared to a year earlier, following y-o-y declines of 0.1% in 2021 and 2.6% in 2020, based on figures from the CSO.

Rents, rental yields: excellent yields at 8% to  8.47%

Ireland: city centre apartment buying price, monthly rent (2-BR apartments)
	Buying price	Rate per month	Yield
Dublin	€ 350,000	€ 2,400	8.23%
Cork	€ 245,000	€ 1,576	7.72%

Recent news: The overall economy remains strong. During 2022, Ireland’s economic growth accelerated by 12.2% from a year earlier, buoyed by the exceptional performance of multinational sectors, particularly information/communications technology firms, pharmaceutical, and med-tech manufacturing companies, which are attracted by the country’s very open economy and by its relatively low tax inversion rate of 12.5%. The economy grew by an annual average of nearly 10% from 2014 to 2021.

The Irish economy is projected to grow by a more moderate 4.9% this year and by another 4.1% in 2024, according to the European Commission.