Average house prices could be about to fall, the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has said. 

The cost of buying a home is thought to have surged by 7.3% between May 2023 and May 2024.  

Despite this, the BPFI, which published its own Housing Market Monitor report today, believes the property market is about to cool. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, BPFI Chief Economist Ali Ugur described housing output as “flat” in the first half of 2024. 

“It actually declined in the first six months of this year compared to last year,” he said. 

“When we look at the previous year’s data, we see that this is mainly due to the share of the apartments, which take longer to build. 

“We’ve seen a significant amount of activity in the commencement figures in previous years - which is now reflected in the completions.” 

Quarterly #HousingforAll update. Building started on almost 12,000 new homes in the first three months 2024, up 63% on the same period last year.
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— MerrionStreet.ie (@merrionstreet) April 24, 2024

Last year, 32,695 homes were built in Ireland and the Government expects this year the figure will be closer to 40,000. 

Mr Ugur said increased supply should have an impact on prices. 

“We expect in the second half [of the year] the housing output to increase significantly,” he said. 

“Hopefully, that will affect the average prices to bring them down in the second half of the year.” 

Inheritance and the property market

The report also found that just over one in 10 Irish adults own their home thanks to a gift or inheritance. 

Amárach research surveyed 1,000 people for BPFI and found that while most people have never received a gift or inheritance, many who did went on to use it to buy their own home. 

“Our survey published today shows that 38% of Irish adults have received a substantial gift or inheritance and approximately one third, 34%, of those used it to help them buy or build their own home,” BPFI CEO Brian Hayes said.

“This means that nearly 13% of Irish adults have used a gift or inheritance to help them buy or build their own home.”

Although 62% of adults have never received a gift or inheritance, that figure dropped 53% among those over the age of 55. 

The overwhelming majority, 81%, of those who received a gift or inheritance were given money, while 22% of people recieved property and a further 11% were given land. 

Main image: An apartment development under construction near Griffith Avenue in Dublin. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews