Wednesday 15th July 2026
HOUSE PRICE INCREASES SLOWING AS BUYERS DISPLAY CAUTION – IPAV
Commenting on the latest CSO Residential Property Price Index for May, IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers, said the level of increases having pulled back from the double-digit growth of Autumn 2024 to 6.2% in April and May this year, is as unsurprising as it is welcome.
Genevieve McGuirk, IPAV’s Chief Executive said: “It’s not sustainable that high increases could be maintained over a prolonged period, even with the shortage of supply. They have been on an upward trajectory since the covid pandemic.”
And she said in the current economic climate prospective buyers are behaving more cautiously. “Cohorts of the market are performing differently with many buyers concerned about interest rates into the future and are taking more time over their decisions and that is understandable,” she said.
It was evident in today’s CSO figures, she said, that of the 20 market segments featured in the index, between April and May nine displayed annual percentage increases month-on-month, a further nine showed decreases in the rate of increase, with two indicating no change.
All eyes are now on Government measures, she said, with much anticipation that its infrastructure plan and planning changes in particular will deliver greater supply.
This week’s new Planning and Development regulations by Minister of State for Housing, John Cummins TD, mark one important element of housing policy that can be expected to assist young people and families in a range of situations for whom current planning rules have been unduly stringent.
“However, this could only ever help a small cohort of the market. Greater emphasis also needs to be placed on vacant and derelict properties to bring them back into use. It is to be hoped that the combined package of measures will deliver in an unprecedented way and lead to a sustainable housing market.”