Rising Laois housing supply hasn't halted higher prices

The rising supply of new Laois homes has not slowed prices rising according to the new Daft.ie report which reports a 5% rise in the cost of buying a home in the county.

Daft.ie reports that Laois prices in the first three months of 2024 were 5% higher than a year previously, compared to a rise of 4% seen a year ago.

The average price of a home is now €248,000, 12% below its Celtic Tiger peak.

The following is a snapshot of asking prices and the percentage annual changes for Laois housing property from Daft.ie from January to March 2024:

• One-bed apartment €93,000 down 8.7%
• Two-bed terrace €132,000 up 7%
• Three-bed semi-detached home €175,000 up 3.1%
• Bungalow four bedroom €350,000 up 4.2%
• Detached five bedroom €356,00 up 9%

The report shows that the median price of a new home in Laois is €342,830. 

The average price reported in Laois is below that of the rest of the country which Daft.ie says is €278,340 – up 7.2%.

It also shows that there were fewer than 2,850 homes on the market in Leinster (outside Dublin) on March 1, down 25% year-on-year and close to the all-time low recorded in early 2022.

There was a 3% increase in the number of transactions in Leinster (excluding Dublin) during 2023 compared to 2022.

There were just over 218 properties listed for sale in Laois on the Daft.ie website on the day the report was published, March 26. Sites are listed among these.

The two most expensive houses are on the market for €750,000. They are located near Durrow and at Ballycarroll Portlaoise.

The cheapest home listed is on the market is a vacant bungalow for €100,000 located close to Rathdowney. The agent says it needs complete refurbishment. More below picture of the house.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage monthly data says builders notified authorities of 152 commencements in 2023 in Laois. A total of 19 Commencement Notices for esidential construction starts were notified in January and February.

Nationally, housing prices rose by an average of 1.8% in the first three months of 2024 say Daft.ie which says the typical listed price nationwide in the first quarter of 2024 was €326,469, 5.8% higher than in the same period a year earlier and 30% higher than at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Significant differences in trends across the country persist, with increases in general lower in and close to Dublin. Prices in the capital were 3.2% higher in the first quarter of 2024 than a year previously, while in the rest of Leinster, the increase was 5%. Cork City saw prices rise by 7.3% year-on-year, while Galway city saw an increase of 9.4%. Increases in Waterford and Limerick cities were both just over 10%. Elsewhere, prices in Munster (outside the cities) were 10.9% higher and up 6.7% in Connacht-Ulster in early 2024 compared to a year earlier.

The number of homes available to buy nationwide on March 1st stood at below 10,500. This is down 24% year-on-year and represents a new all-time low for the series which extends back to January 2007. The number of homes to buy currently is just 40% of the 2019 average. The fall in availability affects all major regions of the country and started in mid-2023, after twelve consecutive months of recovering availability following lockdowns.

"The main factors driving the trends seen over the last few years – and resuming in 2024 – are an overall shortage, together with the impact of the Central Bank rules," said Ronan Lyons economist at Trinity College Dublin.

Commenting on the report, its author Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin, said: “The new low in homes available to buy is driven by the second-hand segment and highlights the very tight conditions in the second-hand market across the country since Covid-19. The number of homes being built has risen steadily. But interest rate increases have affected the recovery of the second-hand market. As interest rates peak and then fall, and in particular as sitting homeowners roll of fixed rate mortgages, there should be an improvement in second-hand supply. Nonetheless, availability is well below half the levels seen pre-covid19, meaning it may take years for second-hand supply to recover to normal levels.”

Average list price and year-on-year change – major cities, Q1 2024

• Dublin City: €437,125 – up 3.2%
• Cork City: €347,409 – up 7.3%
• Limerick City: €274,427 – up 10.3%
• Galway City: €378,504 – up 9.4%
• Waterford City: €247,064 – up 10.2%
• Rest of the country: €278,340 – up 7.2%

The full report is available from HERE