Value of average Kilkenny home to rise by €12,000 this year: survey

The price of the average three-bed semi in county Kilkenny is expected to rise by 5% in the next 12 months, according to a new survey.

Three-bed semi-detached homes in the county now cost an average of €240,000, up 15% on the December 2020 average of €208,500, the REA Average House Price Index shows. A 5% increase would add €12,000 to the average three-bed semi in the county.

The survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland’s typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an up-to-date picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.

Landlords exiting the market have accounted for almost one in four home sales over the past three months, the data shows.

Prices in Kilkenny city rose to €285,000 in December, representing a 3.6% increase in the final three months of the year and 18.8% in 2021 overall.

“There is a lot of interest from people moving home from Dublin and from abroad,” said Michael Boyd of REA Boyd’s, Kilkenny.

“A number of new homes schemes have started selling and are going very well and sellers also include small investors and executor sales.

“The market has been a bit calmer compared Q2 and Q3 2021 as the pent-up demand has been satiated.”

The average price reported in Callan at the end of December was €195,000, an increase of 2.6% over the final three months of the year and representing a 10.2% increase for 2021.

“The market is very strong. We are seeing investors selling up and we expect to see more of this activity into 2022 as there is a long lead time in notice period for tenants,” said Robbie Grace of REA Grace, Callan.

Average house prices rose by 2.24% nationally in the last three months of 2021, half the rise experienced between June and September as demand eased and the market calmed.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country rose by €5,900 over the past three months to €269,963 – representing an annual increase of 13%.

Selling prices rose in commuter areas (3.34%) and the country’s large towns (2.57%) as buyers continue to move out further from the capital in anticipation of long-term remote and hybrid working situations.

The commuter area increases are treble those in Ireland’s major cities, with Dublin increasing by 1% and Cork Limerick and Galway by an average of 0.8% as agents reported a quieter quarter.

In Dublin city, house prices rose by over €4,000 in Q4, compared to more than €10,000 in Q3, increasing from €467,000 in September to a present rate of €471,667.

Three bed semis in commuter counties rose 3.34% by over €9,000 in the past three months to an average of €291,944 – with the average home selling in just three weeks.

As the flight to rural locations continues, prices in the rest of the country’s towns rose by 2.6% in Q3 to €190,138.

Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford cities shared a combined increase of 0.8% in the past 12 weeks with the average three bed semi now costing €283,000.

While Cork (€335,000), Galway (€302,000) and Waterford (€250,000) were relatively static, prices in Limerick rose by 2.1% to €245,000.