Almost 5 per cent of the homes which changed hands in Dublin in the first six months of 2018 sold for more than €1 million with the total values of sales in the capital increasing by 28 per cent when compared with the same period last year.
New figures published by property website myhome.ie on Saturday reveal that the number of homes being bought and sold across the State jumped by almost 4 per cent, with sales values climbing by just under 20 per cent when compared with the same period in 2017.
According to the study, which is based on an analysis of the Property Price Register, sales volumes in Dublin were more than twice the national average with the value of sales in the capital going up by a substantial 26 per cent.
The figures show the number of home sales across the State climbed by 3.6 per cent in the first half of 2018 and reached 24,448 over the six-month period. The value of the transactions increased from €6.04 billion to €7.11 billion, up 18 per cent on the 2017 figure.
Property market
Dublin, which is responsible for about one-third of the property market, led the way with 8,187 sales – an increase of 8 per cent on the 7,582 sales recorded for the same period last year. The value of sales in the capital rose by a substantial 26 per cent to €3.8 billion from just over €3 billion.
According to the price register there were 335 €1 million-plus sales in Dublin in the first half of the year with the biggest one-off property sale being Inniscorrig, on Coliemore Road in Dalkey, which sold in May for €7.8 million. Overall there were 21 sales of €1 million-plus in Cork with the largest one-off property sale being San Paula on Orchard Road for €1.9 million in January.
"In 2017, there were around 55,000 residential sales. The bad weather caused a lot of disruption early in the year but with sales continuing to pick up we believe the total number of sales in 2018 will be close to 60,000, an increase of 9 per cent," said Angela Keegan, managing director of MyHome.ie, which is part of The Irish Times group.
"To put this in context there are around two million residential properties in Ireland and in a normal functioning market you'd expect to see 5 per cent or 100,000 properties changing hands annually. Clearly we still have some way to go but we are moving in the right direction."
Price inflation
She said the increase in the value of sales was “being driven by the sale of a number of major developments as well as the double-digit price inflation we have seen recently in Dublin and around the country”.
She suggested the site's most recent property price report indicated that prices are cooling due to the lending controls introduced by the Central Bank "which is also positive" she said.
Although the rise in sales in the commuter belt was a big part of the story in the first six months of last year, the counties recording the biggest percentage increase in sales this year include Carlow on 18.5 per cent, Roscommon on 14.6 per cent and Laois where an increase of 13.5 per cent was recorded.
The counties with the lowest number of sales were Monaghan where just 162 sales took place, Longford where 201 sales occurred and Leitrim which recorded 214 sales.
