Longford property prices jumped by €4,000 in third quarter of 2024

The median asking price for a property in the county is now €149,00, an increase of over €4,000 compared with a year ago, according to a new report.

The rise in prices is being attributed to population growth and a strong economy with a 2.8% jump in prices in the county based on the MyHome.ie figures for the third quarter.

The report completed in association with Bank of Ireland shows  there has been an increase in prices of €4,059, while asking prices for a 3-bed semi-detached house in the county rose by €2,576 or 1.8% over the quarter to €140,000.

Meanwhile, the asking price for a 4-bed semi-detached house in Longford rose by €8,250 during the quarter to €172,000. This price is an increase of €13,006 compared to this time in 2023.

The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland, stated there were some significant aspects to the report.

 “Perhaps the most striking news since our last MyHome report is that Ireland’s population grew by 1.9% pace for a second successive year, to 5.38 million in 2024," he said. "We have not seen population and economic growth at this level since the Celtic tiger era, and as a result the housing market is being put under intense pressure."

Mr MacCoille stated a simple way to illustrate this is to ask how many homes Ireland would need to build to match the UK’s housing to population ratio. 

"Our report shows that to ‘catch up’ with the UK’s housing stock would now require an additional 206,000 homes, versus 138,000 in 2020.” He said. "New instructions for sale in Q3, were up 2% on the year, but remain depressed."

The report author said thew overarching concern is that the tight housing market is now feeding on itself, with would-be vendors put off by for fear of failing to secure a property once they sell their own home.