House prices jump again as median cost of a home in Laois now €335,000
The Midlands saw the biggest jump in property prices in the past year after Dublin
The price of houses and apartments continue to soar in Laois as the wider Midlands region saw the largest growth in house prices after Dublin in the past year.
The latest report from the Central Statistics Office shows that the median price for a house in Laois now stands at €335,000.
This is just below the national mid-point price of €390,461 for residential properties. In comparison to Laois, the highest median price paid for a dwelling was €685,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, while the lowest was €200,000 in both Donegal and Longford.
Dublin experienced the largest increase in residential property prices in the past 12 months with an increase of 5.1% for houses and 7.8% for apartments.
The Midlands saw the largest growth in prices outside of Dublin, with house prices in Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath increasing by a massive 13.4%.
Nationally, the annual increase in property prices was 6.5% as of March 2026. This represents the lowest annual increase since February 2024 when 6.2% was recorded by the CSO.
Commenting on the latest figures from the CSO, Brokers Ireland said the slowing in the rate of increase, 6.5% in the 12 months to March, down from 6.7% in February and 7.1% in January, clearly points to consumer caution given concerns around inflation at a time when house prices have been on an upward trajectory for some time and consequently many are reaching affordability limits.
Rachel McGovern, Deputy Chief Executive at the organisation which represents mortgage, insurance and financial brokers, said, however, that “respite from high prices would not appear to be on the horizon, given the fact that demand is still way out of sync with supply, and the risk of rising inflation further hampering supply.”
She explained that rising inflation is likely to make lenders more cautious with stress testing borrowers.
“Caution on this side of the equation is no bad thing. But it leaves aspiring buyers in a catch 22 situation, struggling to get on the property ladder at a time when rental costs are very high, well in excess of mortgage repayments in many instances.”
When it comes to solutions to bringing costs down, she said that government measures are the only realistic prospect, even if it means “embracing politically unpalatable tax breaks.”