Irish housing market demand slowdown

In Ireland, house price inflation has slowed significantly, particularly in Dublin. According to the Daft Sales Report, while national list prices rose by 3% year-on-year to an average of nearly €445,000, transaction prices in Dublin increased by only 0.8% in the year leading to September 2026. This represents the slowest rate of increase in the region since 2020.

In Dublin, the average list price reached €635,000. Although these prices remain 44% higher than pre-Covid levels, they sit 7.5% below the peak of the Celtic Tiger era. The gap between initial list prices and final transaction prices has narrowed nationally to 2.6%, compared to 6.8% the previous year.

Report author Ronan Lyons attributed this trend to ‘genuinely softer demand’ rather than changes in supply. While second-hand supply has recovered since the pandemic, the flow of homes onto the market has remained flat for three years. Sales for both new and second-hand homes have declined in Dublin. Nationally, Waterford city saw the fastest inflation at 11%, while other major cities like Cork, Galway, and Limerick recorded increases of less than 6%.