HOUSE prices are on the rise again, according to figures published last week by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
After dropping back slightly at the beginning of the year, the figures show that, for the month of March, residential property prices rose by 0.9 per cent nationwide, and residential property prices were up 16.8 per cent on an annual basis.
In Dublin residential property prices rose by 1.1 per cent in March, and Dublin residential property prices were 22.8 per cent higher than in March 2014.
According to Dr John McCartney, Director of Research at Savills, the return of faster house price growth in the CSO figures may reflect a delayed market reaction to the Central Bank’s new mortgage lending rules.
“Last October the bank announced plans to make mortgage lending more restrictive,
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“However, it said that people with loan offers in place prior to the regulations becoming law would still be able to borrow under the old rules.
“This led to a stampede for loan approvals in the closing months of last year.
“With these offers generally lasting for six months, time is running out for buyers with pre-existing approvals to borrow under the old regime.
“It may be that demand from these motivated buyers is behind the rebound in price growth seen in today’s figures.
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However, Dr McCartney said that this would be a temporary phenomenon and that the trend of moderating prices growth should reassert itself later in the year.