Cork city house prices expected to rise in 2022, a new survey has found. Photo: Maria Ziegler

Three bed semi price to rise?

There was good news or bad news depending on if you’re selling or buying a house in Cork city over the next year.

The price of the average three-bed semi in Cork city is expected to rise by five per cent in the next 12 months, according to a survey by Real Estate Alliance (REA).

Three-bedroom semi-detached homes in the city now cost an average of €335,000, up three per cent on the December 2020 average of €325,000, the REA Average House Price Index showed, which was published on Monday.

The survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland's typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an up-to-date picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.

Landlords exiting the market have accounted for almost one in four home sales over the past three months, the data showed.

Prices across the county rose 15 per cent this year to €206,000, and over the past three months, prices in the city remained static and rose 1.5 per cent in the county.

“The initial surge in demand after the lockdown was lifted in the summer of 2021 has now abated, with stock available at that time now having been disposed, and sentiment, it seems, has become somewhat more cautious going into 2022,” said Michael O’Donoghue of REA O’Donoghue & Clarke, Cork.

He added: “However, overall demand continues to be strong with a mixture of both mortgage-approved and cash purchasers. Having said that, a continuing lack of second-hand stock coming to the market remains a significant issue in relation to all property types in both the city and the wider county in general.”

Average house prices rose by 2.24 per cent nationally in the last three months of 2021, half the rise experienced between June and September as demand eased and the market calmed.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country rose by €5,900 over the past three months to €269,963 – representing an annual increase of 13 per cent.

Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford cities shared a combined increase of 0.8 per cent in the past 12 weeks with the average three bed semi now costing €283,000.

While Cork (€335,000), Galway (€302,000) and Waterford (€250,000) were relatively static, prices in Limerick rose by 2.1 per cent to €245,000.