Property prices continued to rise in Ireland in September, but the slow-down continues in Dublin. Prices rose by 1.4% in the year to September 2023, with prices in Dublin decreasing by 1.9%. Outside Dublin, prices were up by 4%, the Central Statistics Office said. 

September was the fourth consecutive national monthly increase, with prices up 0.8% compared with the previous month across the country. However, higher mortgage interest rates have been blamed for the fall in prices in Dublin, with high-end homes showing the biggest declines.

But strong demand from first-time buyers is ensuring prices keep rising nationally, although at a slower pace than previously. First-time buyers can knock up to €100,000 off what they have to borrow for new homes by combining two state support schemes.

Buyers who use the new First Home shared equity scheme, along with the Help-To-Buy tax refund, are managing to buy €320,000 homes with mortgages of just €240,000. One commentator said this was acting like “rocket-fuel” to propel people on to the property market. But it may also be fuelling continued rising house prices.