The number of Irish millionaires has surged by 12% because of the booming property market. 

House prices have shot up by 14% since 2021 and are currently hovering around the same level they were in April 2007, at the peak of the boom. 

UCC Economics Lecturer Séamus Coffey said the rising value of property is the “key element” behind the surging number of Irish millionaires.

“In the main it’s older households,” he told The Pat Kenny Show. 

“They’ve bought their households; they’ve repaid their mortgages or reduced their liabilities and built up maybe other forms of savings. 

“They might have money on deposit in banks or in the case of the self-employed, they could have built up pension savings. 

“Whereas, at the other end, are younger people who haven’t had the time to build up assets.” 

Such a phenomenon is common across the western world. Rising house values have left many pensioners asset-rich but only materially comfortable or even poor. The house they bought might be worth €1,000,000 but their income is nothing like that. 

Traditional "cottage houses" in the inner-city area of North Strand, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

Crash? 

The international energy crisis means that a number of countries in Europe are expected to tip into a recession in the coming months. When people’s incomes fall, property prices usually tumble as well. 

Ireland’s economic growth is predicted to slow but not to go negative in the coming months. It means that, while the price growth could slow, it is unlikely there will be a crash like there was in the aftermath of the Celtic Tiger. 

“A certain reduction or correction in house prices for many households wouldn't have much of an impact,” Mr Coffey said. 

“If you’re a recent purchaser and have taken out a mortgage, you’d be unhappy to see things like negative equity arise but I don’t think we’re likely to see anything near the scale that we saw 15 years ago. 

“In fact, most of the predictions are that we need a moderation in growth; that 15% growth per annum growth we’re seeing at the moment, simply can’t continue. That has to slow down.”

Main image: A woman take money out of her purse. Picture by: Alamy.com