The number of house sales in Dublin rose 16 per cent to 17,491 last year, according to an analysis of the market by property company MyHome.ie. Amid a rising market, the total value of the transactions rose 21 per cent to €7.4 billion.
According to MyHome.ie research based on figures in the Property Price Register, the number of house sales rose in all but four of Dublin’s 22 postal code districts.
Dublin 15 was the postcode with the largest number of sales during the year, with 1,640 transactions, up 17 per cent on the year before. Most activity in the area centred around Castleknock, which recorded 432 sales, followed by Blanchardstown with 145 and Ashtown with 121.
This was followed by Dublin 18 on 1,029, where Leopardstown, Stepaside and Sandyford were the main focal points, with Dublin 24 the third busiest with 939 sales.
The postcodes that recorded the biggest increases were Dublin 17, where sales increased 88 per cent, Dublin 24, where they were up 71 per cent, and Dublin 13, where they were 55 per cent higher than they were the year before.
The four postcodes that recorded falls in sales were Dublin 20, where sales fell 47 per cent, Dublin 4, where they were down 28 per cent, Dublin 9, where they dropped 16 per cent, and Dublin 7, where they were 3 per cent lower.
The fall in Dublin 4, from 892 sales to 638, was the result of the sale of a large development in 2016, which inflated the figures for that year.
Sharpest increases
MyHome.ie managing director Angela Keegan said the postcodes recording the largest number of sales and the sharpest increases were generally found close to the M50. She said this highlighted the need for a better public transport network for the city.
“Commuting times and urban sprawl go hand in hand, and unless Dublin develops and increases the capacity of its public transport network this is a problem which is only going to intensify,” she said.
The city was already seeing the huge pressures being exerted on the M50 and the Luas, Ms Keegan said.
“The new MetroLink isn’t due to open until 2027 so anyone buying a new house in north or south Co Dublin in the coming years will have to factor in lengthy commuting times.”
Ms Keegan said it was interesting that the number of sales had risen in Dublin 1, 2 and 3, and that Dublin 2 and Dublin 1 had recorded the second and third highest increases in sales values.
“This indicates that new multi-unit developments are beginning to come on stream close to the city centre, and one would hope that this is a trend which will intensify given the chronic lack of housing we have in the city.”
